Fifteen: A Lattimer Legacy
by closeto30
Summary: Eighteen year old twins Martin and Leena Lattimer are ready to move on with their lives now that high school is done, especially after a decade of being emotionally cut off by a mother paralyzed with grief. An internship at the Smithsonian leads to a world of endless wonder... Lattimers next generation :)
1. Chapter 1

Leena Lattimer was agitated, and there was nothing her twin brother Martin could do about it. He watched as his sister twitched back the curtain in front of her, exhaled loudly, and then turned to pace the floorboards again. Her bottle green gown fluttered out behind her like a cape.

"Leena, they'll be here," he soothed for what felt like the hundredth time. Leena whirled on him, her brown eyes flashing.

"Would you please stop saying that?" she snapped. Martin tried hard not to roll his eyes. When Leena was in a mood, it was advisable not to push her.

"This is so typical," Leena muttered, her kitten heels tapping as she continued to pace. Martin straightened the gown that he was wearing, identical to Leena's.

"Leen, it's our high school graduation," he said. "They'll be here."

Leena stopped pacing long enough for Martin to grab hold of her arm. He put a hand softly on her cheek.

"Relax," he murmured. Leena's hardened look softened, and she exhaled loudly as she sat down next to her brother. She dropped her hands to her lap.

"I don't even know why I care," she muttered. "We can just add this to the list of everything else she's missed over the years."

"Mom's got a lot on her plate," Martin started. He wasn't sure why he was bothering; this speech was well worn, and it always ended the same way. "Since Dad... there's just so much for her to deal with. And Phoebe, we both know that Phoebe's got her own way of doing things..."

"Phoebe's got Mom," Leena interjected. "These last nine years, Phoebe has had Mom, all to herself. And you and I, all that we have is each other. I swear Marty, I can't wait to get out of this place, and away from Mom."

Martin's response was cut off by a faculty member calling for the graduating teens to take their places in the bleachers set up on the school hall stage. Leena grabbed Martin's hand as they took their seats.

"Happy graduation," she whispered, the first soft words she'd uttered all day. Martin gave her hand a squeeze as the curtains were opened to the sound of applause from the sea of proud parents. Martin gave a small sigh of relief as he picked his mother out towards the back of the crowd, her unruly curls making her easy to spot. Phoebe sat beside her, her own curls captured in two braids. Martin couldn't help but grin as his little sister caught him watching and started waving enthusiastically. He loved Phoebe, and so did Leena. It was the fact that their mother concentrated all of her attention on the 12-year-old that got Leena's back up. Phoebe was sweet and kind; she was just completely accident prone and often off in her own little world. She didn't demand attention, she just got it. Martin glanced at his twin. Leena was chewing on lip as she toyed with her long brown hair, worn loose to accommodate the cap she wore. Her hair was dead straight, as was his, just like their father's had been. Martin had some time to let his mind wander as the valedictorian, a girl who had only just beaten his sister to the title, stood to make her speech. If Martin had been holding a mirror in front of him, he knew he'd see the spitting image of his father, right down to the smile that everyone said was a Lattimer trademark. Leena was much the same; while extremely feminine, she carried far more of the Lattimer genes in her looks than Bering. However, where the twins mirrored their father in looks, they took after their mother in intellect. Both of them were driven by a thirst for knowledge, reflected in the honour roll scarves draped around their shoulders at that moment. Martin was also athletic, and had happily accepted the offer to play basketball at Duke University. Leena's love was history and literature, and she would join her brother at Duke after completing a summer internship at The Smithsonian Institute in D.C. Martin wouldn't voice it as loudly as his sister, but he was also looking forward to getting out of Colorado Springs, and moving on from the things that constantly reminded him of his father. Martin jumped at the sudden touch on his shoulder.

"Come on," Leena grinned. "It's go time."

They joined the line of students waiting expectantly in alphabetical order. Leena smoothed down her hair, and then turned to straighten her brother's tie. He wrinkled his nose at her, and she stuck her tongue out in reply.

"Leena Juliet Lattimer," the speaker announced. Leena straightened her shoulders, smiled widely, and strode purposefully across the stage. She accepted her diploma from the headmaster, nodding her head politely, and turned to face the audience as she flipped her tassel from one side of her cap to the other. Above the light applause came a loud yell of "Go Leena!" and a cheering whoop. Martin started to chuckle. Phoebe was standing in her seat and clapping enthusiastically, while their mother tried to talk her down with a smile on her face.

"Martin Peter Lattimer."

Phoebe's catcalling continued as Martin stepped onto the stage, but when he turned to look at his sister and his mother, his mother was no longer smiling. Her lower lip was wobbling, and she was wiping tears from her eyes. Martin's heart broke a little as he thanked the headmaster and walked off the stage. He walked into his sister's open arms, and wondered, as she held him, if he would ever be able to speak his own name without reducing his mother to tears.


	2. Chapter 2

"Marty! Leena!"

The Lattimer twins turned at the sound of their sister's voice. Phoebe ran at them full pelt, hurling herself against them and forming an instant Lattimer sibling group hug. She grinned up at them.

"Did you hear me cheering?" she asked, her eyes hopeful.

"They heard you in Denver, brat," Leena said, rolling her eyes and poking at Phoebe's nose with a carefully manicured finger. Phoebe laughed and released her siblings from her hold. She looked at Marty hopefully.

"Can I try your hat on?"

Martin handed the graduation cap to his little sister and looked up at his mother, who stood a couple of feet away. Her eyes were still watery.

"Hey Mom," he said.

"You were late," Leena accused, folding her arms across her chest. Myka Lattimer bit her lip as she stepped forward.

"Phoebe spilled cranberry juice all over herself," she offered apologetically. "It took a while to get her dressed again, and then finding a parking space..." she trailed off at Leena's cool glare. Phoebe looked up sheepishly from under Martin's cap.

"Sorry," she said with a crooked grin, the absolute miniature of her mother. Her offering did nothing to dispel the awkward tension between Myka and her eldest daughter.

"Can I take you both to dinner?" Myka asked. "Graduation dinner? I have gifts."

"There's a party," Leena said coolly. Myka's hopeful look faltered.

"Oh, um, ok," she murmured. She reached into her purse, pulling out two small packages. "I suppose I can give these to you now."

Leena had a suspicious look on her face as she accepted the box being held out. Martin offered his mother a smile. He cracked open the box she'd given him, and then let out a ragged sigh.

"Oh Mom," he said softly. He swallowed hard, to stop his voice from wavering. "Dad's watch."

Myka nodded. She was clearly on the verge of tears again. Martin took the watch into his hand and turned it over.

"You are my endless wonder," he read off the engraving. He bit his lip and pulled his mother into a hug. When he pulled away, he looked over at Leena, who was dangling a ring on a chain in front of herself.

"Dad's wedding ring," she said monotonously. Myka wiped at her cheeks.

"The chain was his too," she croaked out. Leena narrowed her eyes and dropped the ring back into the box, snapping it closed.

"We should get going," she said sharply. She gave Martin a pointed look and then turned and strode across the lawn towards the parking lot. Martin watched a forlorn expression cross his mother's face. Even Phoebe looked sad. She offered the graduation cap back to her brother, but Martin pushed it back on her.

"Keep it safe for me, k?" he said, and looked at Myka, offering a half smile. He held up the box containing his father's watch. "Thanks for this."

Myka pulled Phoebe close to her, barely acknowledging Martin's statement.

"You wanna go to Chipotle, kid?" she asked, and Phoebe let out a cheer. Myka didn't even look up as she turned her daughter and headed away. Martin sighed, shoved the watch into his pocket, and turned to chase after Leena. He caught her on the edge of the parking lot, talking to some members of the football team. He grabbed her arm.

"That was way harsh, Leen," he said, staring her down. Leena didn't even blink.

"I am not about to play happy families with her, just because she suddenly felt the need to bond," she hissed. "Did she even say goodbye?"

Martin knew his face gave him away. Leena scoffed, and swung the keys to her Toyota in front of him.

"To the party?" she asked contritely. Martin huffed and followed her to the car. As Leena steered them out of the parking lot, he pulled his father's watch out to study it again. Leena gave him a sideways glance.

"I miss him," she whispered, a surprising offering. "How dare he die on us."

Martin turned the watch over in his hands. Holding it brought back a surge of memories from childhood; Pete Lattimer's booming laughter mingling with his wife's, summer evenings spent playing basketball in the driveway, the smell of fresh baked cookies, and the giddy feeling after hours spent playing at being ninjas during rainy days. But it also reminded him of that final year with Pete, when his internal organs began to fail, and he became thin and frail, and the laughter that had once filled the Lattimer house was replaced with the sound of Myka sobbing and begging Pete to stay with her. Leena and Martin had been 9, and Phoebe barely 3, when the liver transplant Pete had received failed, and he slipped away. He'd tried as hard as he could to keep a brave face for the sake of his children, but Martin still had nightmares about the gaunt, hollow looking man his father had become at the end of his life. Myka had packed up her family and moved them back to her home town shortly after Pete's death, and had promptly withdrawn from society, preferring to bury herself in her father's book and antique store, and to dote almost exclusively on her youngest daughter. Leena had taken the rejection of her mother the hardest. She'd been closest to Pete, daddy's little girl, and the support she so desperately needed was taken away without much explanation. Martin had stepped up, and had been his sister's protector ever since. That didn't mean he didn't miss Pete, but in truth, it was his mother he missed most of all.

"She called him her endless wonder," Martin said to his sister. "Did you ever hear her say that?"

"Only when she thought no one was listening," Leena told him, surprising Martin with her candidness. "I never thought about it. Daddy was wonderful, after all."

Martin made a soft noise in response, and buckled the watch onto his wrist. Leena parked her car, and then reached over and put her hand over her brother's.

"He was watching us today," she said. "Even when Mom wasn't there, Daddy was."

"Leena," Marty started, but his sister cut him off with a finger to his lips.

"Less talk, more celebrate," she smiled, and exited the car before Martin had the chance to speak again.

* * *

><p>Three days later, Leena looked up when a knock on her bedroom door interrupted her from placing folded shirts into her suitcase. Her mother lingered hesitantly in the doorway. Leena turned back to her suitcase.<p>

"Can I help you?" she asked over her shoulder. Myka took a step into the room.

"Do you have everything you need?" she asked cautiously.

"Looks like," Leena answered shortly. She walked past Myka to her closet and bent to collect a pair of shoes. When she stood up, the chain around her neck escaped where it had been tucked into her shirt. Leena fingered the ring absently but tucked it away when she caught her mother smiling softly.

"Is there something that you want?" Leena asked curtly. Myka gestured over her shoulder.

"Phoebe and I were going to make some popcorn, watch a movie," she said tentatively. "Would you like to join us?"

"I have to pack," Leena said, throwing her shoes into her suitcase. "And I promised Grandpa I'd do one more shift at the store before I leave." She stared her mother down. "Go, be with Phoebe."

Myka didn't try to fight the challenge. Instead, she grimaced, patted the door frame dejectedly, and walked away. Leena glared darkly at the spot where her mother had stood, then turned and picked up a photo frame from her bed stand. The photograph had been taken just before Phoebe had been born. Six-year-old Martin and Leena pulled faces at the camera, and a heavily pregnant Myka was laughing, while a happy and healthy Pete stared adoringly at his glowing wife. Leena ran a finger down her father's face, and then slid the photograph between the piles of her folded clothing. She snapped her suitcase closed, checked her ponytail in the mirror, and then grabbed her car keys before heading downstairs. She passed the living room on her way to the front door, and caught sight of Myka painting Phoebe's toenails while Phoebe stuffed as much popcorn in her mouth as she could. Leena rolled her eyes, and made sure that she slammed the front door as loudly as possible as she left the house.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: This chapter is long. I'm sorry, it was either tiny chapter or massive one. I figured let's go large.**

**Also, reviews are love. xoxo**

* * *

><p>The Smithsonian was killing her. Leena's love of literature and American history ran deep, an interest that had been nurtured by her grandparents since they'd busted her flipping through histories of the Civil War shortly after the Lattimers had moved to Colorado Springs, but all of the reading in the world couldn't have prepared Leena for the Smithsonian. She felt like everywhere she turned, there was something new and unfamiliar that both baffled her and took her breath away. Leena had been surprised to find on her arrival that she was the youngest intern in the program, a fresh high school graduate in a group of college sophomores or older. It had been flattering at first, until it became abundantly clear that what was considered brilliance in a Colorado high school was no match for being mentally equipped by the Ivy League. Leena had been in D.C. for three weeks, and she felt like she'd been trailing behind the pack of interns like a puppy for at least two of them. The nickname that the other interns had given her wasn't helping things.<p>

"Hey, Scamp."

Leena looked up from the textbook she'd been studying for the previous hour. Her roommate, a Princeton undergrad named Isabelle, was fixing a bow on her chiffon pink top as she talked.

"A bunch of us are headed out," Isabelle continued. "You should come with us."

"No thanks, Iz," Leena said, smiling so that the girl could see it in the reflection of the mirror. "I, uh, I don't drink."

"We found a bar that doesn't card," Isabelle countered, turned to face Leena. "Come on, Scamp."

"It's not my age," Leena shook her head. "Really, I don't drink. And thank you for trying to include me, but I should really go over my notes again."

Isabelle reached over and tweaked Leena's nose.

"Don't let your head explode, lil pup," she teased. Leena waved her off, and tried to return to her textbook after Isabelle left, but her head wasn't in it. She flopped back on her bed, twisting a strand of hair absently in her fingers as she stared at the ceiling. She wasn't sure how much time had passed when her vibrating cell phone snapped her out of her daydream. Leena reached over her head to pick up the cell, smiling despite herself at the photo message from her little sister.

"Mom said this one might scar... whoops," she snickered. Phoebe was pulling a mock sad face, a large bandage covering the left side of her chin. She hadn't elaborated on the cause of the injury, and Leena could only imagine what trouble her sister had caused to get herself into that state.

"It is our imperfections that make us beautiful," Leena whispered as she tapped out a reply message. Phoebe's reply was swift.

"What's the Smithsonian like at night?"

Leena sat up, setting her phone on the nightstand as she looked out the window of her small dorm room. She could see the winking lights of the Washington Monument from here. She chuffed out a small laugh.

"The brat's a genius," she murmured to herself, pushing herself to her feet. Leena quickly changed her clothes, jamming her feet into her boots as she threw her belongings into her purse. The last two things she grabbed before she walked out of the dorm were her cell phone, and her Smithsonian Institute I.D.

* * *

><p>Martin would be thoroughly unimpressed if he found out that Leena was walking the streets of the city alone after dark, and even though Leena knew that she would have argued with him had he known, she kind of wished that he was with her. They were twins after all, and she could count on her fingers the amount of times they'd spent more than a couple of nights apart. He'd been in regular contact since getting to Duke, though it had been more than 24 hours since his last message. The thought made her a little antsy, but she shrugged the feeling away. Leena shoved her hands into the pockets of her light jacket as she strode purposefully down the street, stepping around a late night dog-walker as she turned the corner and the museum came into view. She smiled to herself as she took the steps towards the security booth. The interns had been encouraged to take advantage of their museum access, and to explore the Smithsonian in its deserted hours. Leena didn't know how many of her fellow interns had taken up the offer, but she felt a little thrill at the thought of having the whole place to herself. Her mood was lifted even further when she found a familiar face manning the security desk.<p>

"Hey Guy," she greeted the middle-aged Italian-American, who tore his attention away from the World Series replay that he was watching on a tablet. His face lit up in happy recognition.

"Well if it isn't Lil Scamp," he grinned, lowering his feet from the desk. Leena rolled her eyes.

"Oh hell, not you too," she said. Guy took her security pass and swiped it, allowing Leena to pass through the electronic gate.

"The nickname suits you, kid," he teased. "You're just so tiny and adorable..."

"Yes, tiny," Leena cut in with a laugh. Even in her flat boots, she had a good six inches on the security guard. Guy chuckled good-naturedly.

"You've got a beautiful smile, Scamp," he told her.

"Thanks!" Leena said brightly, her whole face glowing at the compliment. "My daddy gave it to me."

"You going anywhere in particular?" Guy asked, leaning on the desk and gesturing to the security monitors in front of him. "Just so I can keep an eye out?"

"I hadn't really decided," Leena told him apologetically. "I was just kinda gonna go where my gut told me."

Guy chuckled to himself as he settled back down in his chair.

"Have fun, kid. Just don't break anything."

Leena bade him good night with a wave, striding down the hall to her left, following an unexplainable pull. She stopped from time to time to study an exhibit, taking in mannequins dressed as former presidents, pictures of places she was desperate to travel to, and historical pieces that her fingers itched to touch. Still, it wasn't until she laid her eyes on a door at the end of a room that the pull in her gut seemed to ease.

"The basement," Leena whispered to herself. The Smithsonian housed so many items that they had to be rotated from time to time. The storage facility was also home to repairs, new arrivals, and pieces considered too fragile for public display. Leena could only imagine what was down there to explore. The door required a security pass. Leena passed her I.D. in front of the scanner, and let out a little yip of excitement as her details registered and the lock unsnapped in front of her. She quickly pushed the door open and stepped inside. Despite the granted access, this little side adventure felt ever-so-slightly forbidden. Her heart was thumping as she trod lightly down the fire stairs, stepping further into the dimness of the basement. At the bottom of the staircase she found a panel of light switches, and hesitantly, one by one, she flicked them on. As the fluoro lights flickered and snapped to life, Leena looked up, and momentarily lost her breath.

"Wow."

The basement stretched on further than she could see, what seemed like miles and miles of stacks forming aisles of shelves filled with historical pieces. It took all of Leena's restraint to stop herself from dancing around on the spot. Turning left had served her well upstairs, so she followed the direction again and began to explore. The temptation to stop every five paces was overwhelming; the sheer volume and variety on the shelves would take her years to peruse if she let herself get too distracted. Leena tried to choose her pieces carefully, stopping to study pieces that she did not immediately recognise. She was particularly intrigued by a first gen model iPhone, but it was a first edition of 'To Kill A Mockingbird" that finally caused her to come unstuck. She picked up the book, and after checking that a chair halfway down the aisle wasn't another museum exhibit, settled to carefully turn through the pages. Leena had been reading for a good half an hour when she felt something nudging at the toe of her boot. Frowning, she gently closed the Harper Lee and peered over her crossed leg.

"What on Earth..." she murmured. Something roughly the shape of an emerald green hockey puck was resting against her shoe, bumping slightly back and forth. That something looked remarkably like a...

"Scarab beetle?" Leena asked out loud. She leaned further forward and reached out a hand to pick the object up, then let out a small squeal when it reared up before taking off at a skittering pace down the aisle.

"Hey!" Leena shouted, jumping to her feet and taking off after the beetle. It was like it knew she was after it. It clattered underneath one of the stacks, and Leena pounded down the aisle and threw herself into the corner, boots squeaking underneath her. The beetle sat in the middle of the next aisle. Leena swore if it had possessed a tail, wagging would be happening. She took a cautious step forward, and the beetle fluttered its wings in response.

"Please don't fly," Leena begged under her breath, and it seemed immediately that the beetle took to the air, dive-bombing directly at her face. Leena ducked and shrieked, then turned to follow the beetle's trajectory with her eyes.

"Hey, no fair!" she yelled. The beetle clung to one of the stack posts. Leena took a moment assess her surroundings, and her eyes lit on a wooden jewellery box. She reached for it, and then took careful steps towards the beetle again. The beetle threw itself to the floor and took off again.

"Typical," Leena muttered, breaking into a sprint. She ran down two more aisles and executed another cartoon-style corner into a section that was dimmer than the others, thanks to a line of blown overhead lights. Leena could hear the beetle; the flutter of its wings, its legs tapping on the ground. She tried to keep her breathing calm, and took one small step forward. This time when the beetle dove towards her head, Leena was ready. She held up the jewellery box she'd snagged three aisles earlier, and snapped it closed as the beetle hit the back of the box with a loud thwack. It reacted angrily, the whole box shaking in her hands. Leena let out an exhilarated laugh.

"Gotcha," she said smugly. The satisfied expression on her face quickly turned startled however when she heard cheering and laughter from behind her. Leena turned slowly and came face to face with a tiny redheaded woman wearing well worn sneakers, tight black jeans and a vintage band tee. The redhead was clapping her hands.

"That. Was. Awesome!" she cried. "I am so proud right now.

Leena blinked. There was a recognition light going off in her head. She took a step forward.

"Aunt Claudia?"

The redhead looked ecstatic.

"You remember me?" she asked. "Leena Lattimer, I always knew you were my favourite."

Leena didn't quite share Claudia's enthusiasm.

"What's going on here?" she asked. "How did you get into the museum basement?" She looked down at the box in her hands, which was still shaking and making clattering noises. "What the hell am I holding right now?"

Claudia stepped forward and took the box from Leena's hands.

"I really have to figure out how this thing keeps escaping," she commented. "Seriously though, nice catch."

"Thanks," Leena said, using her now free hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. "I still have no idea what's going on here though."

Claudia grinned mischievously.

"Please tell me your inherited your dad's sense of adventure, kid," she said, and when Leena nodded, Claudia laughed again.

"Walk with me," she said cheerfully, linking arms with Leena and leading her down the aisle towards what Leena could now see was a wall. Claudia was rambling.

"How the hell did you get so tall?" she asked, though Leena seemed to understand that this was going to be the first of many rhetoric questions. "I mean, your parents aren't exactly midgets, but damn girl, you've got legs that go on forever. And that hair, not a curl in sight! Who'd have thought?" Claudia broke off as they reached the wall, which housed what to Leena looked like a standard emergency exit door. She cocked her head to the side expectantly.

"Don't be fooled," Claudia grinned, catching Leena's expression. After handing Leena back the scarab holding jewellery box, Claudia reached into her pocket and pulled out a disc, which she stuck to the concrete panel next to the door. Leena's eyes widened as a holographic screen shimmered into view.

"Wake up, wake up!" Claudia chirped. The screen blinked and then registered a standard I.D. photograph of the redhead.

"Claudia Donovan, Caretaker," a simulated voice stated monotonously. The standard exit door slid back, revealing a waiting elevator. Claudia retrieved the disc from the wall and trotted casually into the elevator car, only pausing when she realised that Leena was still staring open-mouthed at the place where the screen had been only moments before.

"It's voice activated," she offered. Leena shook her head.

"Now I've seen everything," she murmured, stepped forward to join Claudia. Claudia laughed as she hit a series of buttons and the elevator car began its descent.

"Kid, you haven't even seen the half of it," she said. Leena narrowed her eyes at her aunt.

"Is this some kind of weird hallucination?" she asked. "I mean, I haven't seen you in like..."

"Nine years," Claudia cut in. "Just so you know, this is pretty much the tip of the iceberg. If you want my advice, keep your mind open."

The elevator slid to a smooth halt, and Claudia reached out to grip Leena's hand.

"Come on," she said brightly. "I've got a surprise for you."

Leena's mind boggled at the thought. She allowed herself to be led through the doors. The corridor they stepped into was all slate gray and silver, punctuated at intervals with inset down lights. Leena was half-expecting soothing music and trickling water.

"I know, I know, it looks like a day spa," Claudia commented. "Clearly I was not consulted on the interior design."

Leena offered a half laugh. As the pair rounded a corner, Leena opened her mouth to speak, but was immediately distracted by who she came face to face with.

"Marty?"

Martin had been sitting ramrod straight on a grey suede couch, looking too frightened to move. He shot to his feet at the sight of his sister.

"Leena? Oh, thank God..."

He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence. Leena thrust the jewellery box she carried into Claudia's hands and then launched herself at her brother, clinging to him with all her might. Martin's grip was just as strong.

"Jesus, Leena, I have no idea what's going on," Martin mumbled into his sister's shoulder. "I've been sitting here forever..."

"The weirdest thing just happened to me," Leena said at the same time. "I was in the museum reading Harper Lee, and then..."

The twins both stopped mid sentence to pull away from each other.

"What the hell are you doing here?" they both exclaimed at the same time. They both swiveled their heads at the sound of a clearing throat. Claudia waved a hand at them as she raised her eyebrows.

"Are you two both about done?" she asked. Martin and Leena both nodded dumbly.

"That twin thing you guys do is totally cute, by the way," Claudia remarked, striding across the room, which Leena observed was some kind of office, based on the computers, piles of paper and books strewn across desks. "Take a seat kids, I'll go grab us some H2O and then we'll talk."

The twins sunk obediently onto the couch and watched as Claudia disappeared through an automatic sliding door. The moment she was gone, Leena whipped around to face her brother.

"What's going on here?" she hissed.

"I swear to God, I have no clue," Martin hissed back. "This has hands down been the weirdest day of my life."

"How did you even get to D.C.?" Leena asked. Martin threw up his hands.

"So get this," he said. "I was at practice, right, and it was all regulation, and then this guy keeps shooting three pointers. He just kept going, every time he got his hands on the ball, he'd sink it. The coach tells him to stop showing off, but it keeps happening. Coach tells him off again, and that's when I notice this guy is starting to look panicked. He shoots another three, and the coach snaps it. The guy starts shouting that he can't stop. He's standing there making the shooting motions, without even having a ball in his hands. The coach is going ballistic, this guy is freaking out, and when he tries to leave the court, he stops right on the line. It's like he's stuck. Every time he tries to put a foot over the line, it's like he's hitting a wall. But it's only his feet. So I grab the guy next to me, and tell him to tackle the three point shooter. We take him down clean, and I pull his shoes off, and we finally get the poor guy off the court."

"Wait, so this guy's shoes were making him act like a pro player?" Leena asked. "That's not even possible!"

"I know!" Martin cried. "And then the weird thing is, I'm standing there with these shoes in my hand, and then this guy in a suit turns up next to me and grabs them. He shoves them in this bag, and, I dunno, these... sparks... god, I can't even describe it, but it was like something got zapped. And this guy just looks at me and says I have to go with him. I didn't even get the chance to pack anything before I was on a plane and then... here I am!" He looked like he was about to pass out. Leena reached out and put a hand on his knee.

"I caught a scarab beetle shaped like a hockey puck," she said sincerely. Martin stared at her for a moment, and then burst into laughter, which set Leena off in giggles as well.

"Argh, you two are just beyond adorable," Claudia piped up from the doorway. Leena and Martin turned to face her. Claudia feigned embarrassment.

"I do love an audience," she said, sliding into a desk chair and placing some bottles of water on the coffee table in front of the twins.

"How are you guys holding up?" Claudia asked. Martin let out a muffled grunt and rubbed at his face. Leena exhaled softly. Claudia gave a wry grin.

"I keep forgetting you don't know about this," she started. Leena leaned forward.

"Aunt Claudia, _what_ happened to us today?" she asked. Claudia mirrored Leena's pose.

"Today, Martin snagged Michael Jordan's shoelaces," she said, "and you caught an artifact that's been escaping for 20 years. Your first snag and bags! I feel like I should be taking pictures."

"I feel like you're speaking another language," Leena said exasperatedly, slumping back on the couch.

Claudia got to her feet.

"Come on," she beckoned. "I'll show you."

"Show us what?" Martin asked tiredly. Neither he nor his sister made any move to follow their aunt. Claudia rolled her eyes.

"Would you please just do me a favour and allow me some dramatic flair?" she sniped.

"I actually have no idea how much more drama I can take," Martin muttered, nonetheless pushing himself to his feet and offering a hand to Leena. Claudia led them through the sliding door, flicking as a switch as she passed. Leena and Martin had been looking at each other, but when Claudia stopped walking, so did they.

"What on Earth?" Leena whispered. Martin was a little less refined.

"Holy shit," he breathed. The twins walked up to the railing of the balcony they stood on, mouths hanging open. The facility in front of them stretched so far back that the back wall was invisible. Row after row of stacks lined the floor, a sea of timber and steel and flashing lights.

"Is that a Zeppelin?" Leena asked incredulously, squinting off into the distance.

"What is this place?" Martin asked in awe. Claudia stepped up to the rail beside them, grinning smugly. She held out an arm theatrically.

"Martin and Leena Lattimer, welcome to Warehouse 15."


	4. Chapter 4

A couple of hours later, Leena sat cross-legged on an air mattress in Claudia Donavan's spare bedroom, twirling her dad's wedding ring absently in front of herself. After her big reveal, Claudia had taken them back into the office and given them a history of the Warehouse. She was clearly passionate about the topic, and her stories were not without flair or constant deviation. Leena had listened with avid attention, however the session had come to an abrupt end when a sudden snore had interrupted Claudia's tales, and it became apparent that Martin had fallen asleep on the couch beside his sister. Only then did Claudia note that it was 3am. Leena had refused to leave her brother, and Martin clearly had no other place to go, and so the twins found themselves accompanying Claudia home. Claudia had rustled them up some old clothes to sleep in, and Leena now wore a large man's tee over her boyleg underwear. She looked up as Martin cracked open the bedroom door and shuffled in, finally changed out of his gym clothes into a pair of black plaid pyjama pants and a grey t-shirt. He looked like he hadn't slept in an age, and groaned as he sank softly down onto the sofa bed. Leena tucked her father's ring back under her shirt.

"You ok?" she asked her brother. Martin shook his head.

"I am fairly certain that I am the opposite of ok," he muttered, scrubbing at his face with his hands.

"Marty, we've been gifted with something wonderful here, you know," Leena spoke softly. Martin gave her a sidelong glance.

"Leen, I don't even know if what's going on right now is real!" he countered. "I mean, come on! Objects with magical powers, a secret facility under Washington, an aunt we haven't seen in nearly a decade. My head is about ready to explode."

"It is a lot to take in," Leena conceded. Martin scoffed as he hung his head.

"Leena, I gotta sleep," he said tiredly. Leena nodded, and Martin offered her a half grin before leaning over to turn off the lamp beside the sofa bed. They both lay in their respective makeshift beds for a while, and then Leena murmured her brother's name into the darkness.

"Yeah?" Martin whispered in reply.

"I'm really glad you're here with me," Leena admitted softly. "I'd be scared out of my mind without you."

Martin made a half sleepy, half happy sound.

"I love you too, sis."

* * *

><p>Martin emerged from his sleep state sluggish and disorientated. It took him more than a few moments to remember why he wasn't in his dorm room at Duke, but when the memory of the previous day came to him, he felt again like his head wasn't quite screwed on right. He sat up slowly, and found Leena curled up in a ball on the air mattress on the floor. Her breathing was soft and regular, the sleep of the truly exhausted. Martin smiled to himself; his normally dignified sister was drooling. He stretched out his arms, releasing the tension in his shoulders. When he turned his head to the side, he muffled a shout as he locked eyes with a little redheaded girl standing in the door way. She was staring him down studiously. Martin was used to weird kids, what with Phoebe being his sister and all, but this little girl's gaze was a slightly unnerving.<p>

"Hello?" he offered.

"They FedExed some of your stuff," the little girl said, indicating the gym bag on the floor with a soft kick of her foot.

"Thanks?" Martin offered. The little girl raised her eyebrows at him and stepped back out of the room, closing the door behind her. The sound caused Leena to stir. She lifted her head blearily and took in Martin's bewildered face.

"Marty?" she asked.

"There's a kid here," Martin told her. "A little girl."

Leena grunted and buried her face in her pillow for a moment before looking up again.

"What the hell time is it?" she asked. Martin checked his watch, and almost did a double-take.

"It's 10.30," he told his sister. Leena's eyes widened, and then she sniffed at the air.

"Do you smell bacon?"

Fifteen minutes later the twins cautiously made their way downstairs, Martin in clothes he'd found in the bag delivered to their room, Leena redressed in her jeans and long sleeve tee from the night before. They found Claudia and the little girl sitting at round dining room table spread with breakfast foods. Martin nudged Leena with his elbow and stared pointedly at the girl. Leena rolled her eyes. The little girl was attacking a bowl of cereal with gusto, while Claudia more dignifiedly picked at an oat bran muffin while reading from a tablet. Leena cleared her throat, and the pair looked up.

"Hey Lattimers!" Claudia said brightly. "You hungry?" She indicated the empty chairs at the table, and the twins sat down hesitantly. Leena could barely stop herself from staring at the plate laden with crispy bacon.

"I wasn't sure what you two ate, so I had Nola make everything," Claudia explained. Before anyone had the chance to ask who Nola was, a plump blonde woman with a smear of flour on her face walked into the room, carrying a jug.

"Who needs coffee?" she asked in a broad Irish accent.

"Oh dear God yes," Martin gushed, grabbing for a mug and thrusting it towards Nola.

"Nola helps us with the house, because Hades knows I'm not even close to domestic," Claudia told the twins. "She also stays with Bailey when things get a bit hectic." Her eyes suddenly widened as her gaze shot to the little girl still eating her breakfast across the table.

"Oh my God, you haven't met Bailey!"

"Mmm, I kinda already did," Martin muttered over the rim of his mug. Bailey shot him a hard look.

"Bailey, this is Martin and Leena," Claudia said. "Lattimers, this is my daughter, Bailey."

Leena paused with a piece of melon halfway to her mouth.

"I'm sorry, your what?"

"Her daughter," Bailey repeated sarcastically, shoving part of a croissant into her mouth. Martin reached over and snatched the last croissant off the plate before Bailey could take it. The girl glared at him. Martin gave her a sidelong glance.

"How old are you?" he asked Bailey.

"Nearly nine," Bailey replied sullenly.

"And who's your dad?" Martin continued. Bailey opened her food-occupied mouth to answer, but Claudia put a finger to her lips.

"Breakfast time is for eating," she said. "Then we talk."

Leena was already stuffing her face with food. Claudia snickered as she turned her attention back to her tablet.

"Your dad would be so proud."

They had been eating in silence for a few minutes when both Claudia and Bailey's heads shot up at the sound of an opening door.

"Claud?" A man's voice echoed through the house. Bailey dropped her spoon.

"Uh oh."

"Quick, Bay, run," Claudia hissed. Both Leena and Martin looked startled.

"Run?" they asked in unison.

"Not you, her!" Claudia barked. Bailey took off from the table, darting into the kitchen at lightning speed. A moment later, they heard a squeal. Claudia flopped back in her chair.

"Ah nuts," she muttered. Leena and Martin watched in bewilderment as a tall man in his 40s strode into the dining room, carrying a grunting Bailey over his shoulder.

"Claudia, we talked about this," he said with a sigh. "Why isn't Bailey at day camp?"

"Steve, why do you continue to ask me questions when you know I'm just going to lie?" Claudia shot back. Bailey managed to wriggle out of Steve's grasp.

"Dad, we've got guests," she whined. Steve stared her down for a moment, then looked up at the table. His jaw dropped.

"Holy mini Lattimers," he breathed.

Leena had been squirming like an excited puppy since the moment Steve had walked into the room. At the sound of his acknowledgment, she shot out of her chair and threw herself at him.

"Uncle Jinks!" she squealed. Steve gave an excited laugh and swung Leena around, only setting her down so that he could embrace Martin.

"How come I didn't get a welcome like that?" Claudia sniped. Even Bailey was slightly slack-jawed.

"Uncle Jinks used to visit us after Dad died," Martin explained. "Just a couple of times a year."

Leena nodded excitedly in agreement.

"On our 13th birthday he took us to the gun range!" she grinned. Claudia raised her eyebrows.

"Oh really?" she said. "I bet Myka would have loved that."

"I just figure they had the right to know how to defend themselves," Steve said weakly.

"Come to think of it, you did stop visiting after that," Leena mused.

"That had nothing to do with your mom," Steve interjected quickly. "Five years ago..."

"Was when the Warehouse moved to Washington," Martin piped up. Four heads swiveled in his direction.

"What?" Martin shrugged. "I was listening before I fell asleep."

"You never told me that you visited with them," Claudia said to Steve as she rose from her seat. Steve tried to look innocent.

"You were busy, Claud," he offered by way of explanation. Claudia rolled her eyes.

"You're still a rotten liar Steve."

Martin was frowning. He pointed at Bailey.

"Wait, did you just call him Dad?" he asked, gesturing between Bailey and Steve.

"Yeah, coz he's my Dad," Bailey deadpanned. "Duh."

Claudia could see the thousands of questions written all over both Leena and Martin's faces. She wrapped her arms around Bailey's shoulders and rested her chin on her daughter's head.

"Who's up for a trip to the Warehouse?" she asked perkily. The Lattimer twins grinned and nodded. Bailey looked up at her father expectantly, and Steve stared her down for a moment before rolling his eyes.

"Fine, you can go," he huffed. "But tomorrow, back to day camp. No excuses."

Bailey wore a satisfied grin as she leaned back against her mother.

"Tomorrow's Saturday. No day camp."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you for the follows and reviews and enthusiasm. They make me smile. I haven't felt passionate about writing in a very long time. **

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><p>After a detour past the dorms so that Leena could pick up some of her things, Steve pulled his SUV into a nondescript parking structure roughly a block from the Smithsonian. Martin peered out of the window suspiciously.<p>

"Uh, where are we?"

"Side entrance," Bailey piped up from the backseat. She was chewing on a Twizzler despite having barely finished breakfast. Claudia backed up the statement as the group exited the vehicle.

"As you can imagine, it's not exactly stealthy for us to come and go through a public museum," she explained. "It's easier when you have a legitimate I.D. So... side door!"

"God, what is it with you guys and elevator shafts?" Leena asked as they walked up to a service door.

"The Warehouse is in the basement," Claudia answered bluntly. Martin let out a laugh and dodged a punch from his sister. Steve stuck a disc identical to the one Claudia possessed to the wall.

"Agent Steve Jinks," he said, and the holograph burst to life, mimicking Steve's identification as it brought the elevator to service. Bailey darted into the waiting car followed by her mother, and Leena gave Martin's hand a squeeze as they stepped inside. Steve brought up the rear.

"Straight up to the alcove," he told his daughter. "Not out on the floor. You understand me?"

Bailey offered him the rest of her Twizzler in reply. Steve leaned down and snatched it from her fingers with his teeth, and even though Bailey rolled her eyes, she still kissed her father on the cheek. Over the top of the father-daughter gesture, Martin caught Leena's wistful look, which she shook away as the elevator slid to a stop. The twins followed the Donovan-Jinks family unit back into the Warehouse office, where they came across two men in their early 30s pulling on suit jackets. The tall California surfer of the pair gave Bailey a high-five as the girl ran past him and up the spiral staircase in the corner of the room. His partner, a slim African-American with a shaved head, handed Steve a file. Steve nodded as he sat down at a desk.

"Fresh meat," the surfer commented jokingly, looking Leena and Martin up and down. "They're getting younger every time, Claudia."

"They're still smarter than you," Claudia shot back with a grin. "Chester, I know you met Martin yesterday, but this is his sister, Leena Lattimer. Lattimers, this is Jensen," she indicated the surfer, "and Chester. Or as I like to call them, Jester."

"Lattimer?" Chester asked, raising an eyebrow. "More legacy?"

"Yep," Claudia assented. Martin shot a look at Leena behind Claudia's back.

"More legacy?" he mouthed silently. Leena squinted at him in reply. Jensen bent to pick up a phone and wallet from his desk.

"Great to meet you both, but we have to go," he said, tucking his wallet into his pocket as he turned to Claudia.

"Jazzy picked up a ping. It's raining confetti in Calgary."

"Sounds festive," Claudia quipped.

"Let's hope it stays that way," Chester replied, heading towards the door. "We'll check in as soon as possible."

The departure of Jensen and Chester revealed a bleach blonde of college age tapping away furiously at a computer screen. She was obviously very intent on her task.

"What's the sitch, Jazz?" Claudia asked. The young woman looked up and flashed a brilliant smile.

"Just checking the air flow monitors," she answered. "We should probably think about cleaning the vents soon."

Claudia threw a glance at Steve to make sure he'd heard the observation. He nodded and turned back to his computer. Leena was furrowing her brow at the blonde in front of them.

"I know you," she said. "Jasmine, right?"

"Heya Scamp" Jasmine grinned cheekily. "And please, call me Jazz."

"But you wear glasses, and pantsuits," Leena said slowly.

"Only when I'm playing at being a Smithsonian assistant," Jazz answered. "Down here, this is me." She swept her hands in front of her, indicating cut off khaki shorts and an open white blouse over a strappy tank top. The thick rimmed glasses and severe ponytail that Leena had witnessed during her time in the intern program were also gone. The young woman was clearly adept at transforming herself from dowdy to beauty. Leena turned to explain her nickname to her brother, and found him staring stupidly at Jazz. Rolling her eyes, Leena reached over and used a finger to push Martin's jaw closed.

"I apologise," she said dryly. "My brother clearly has never seen a woman before."

Martin blinked hard as Jazz laughed. Even Claudia was snickering quietly. She put an arm around Jazz's shoulder.

"This is Jazz Crenshaw," she said. "She's beyond description awesome."

Now it was Jazz's turn to roll her eyes.

"I'm going down to do inventory in the Greeks," she told Claudia. "Jensen refuses to go down there since Medusa tried to seduce him last time."

"Please," Claudia scoffed. "Medusa has way better taste than that, and she's a statue."

"I'll catch you guys later," Jazz waved at Leena and Martin as she left the office. Martin waved dumbly at her retreating back. Leena folded her arms over her chest.

"Brothers," she muttered, shaking her head. Claudia was grinning as she threw herself into a desk chair.

"So that's the team," she said brightly. "Any questions?"

Martin snapped to attention.

"Aunt Claudia, you clearly keep forgetting that we don't always understand the Warehouse," he started. "And Chester just called us legacy. For everything that you've told us, you've kept fairly quiet about Warehouse 13. So now you need to answer something, please. Was our father a Warehouse agent?"

Claudia dragged her hands down her face dramatically.

"Fine," she groaned. "Yes, Pete was a Warehouse agent."

For all of the bravado in his workup, Martin looked genuinely shocked at Claudia's confession. He looked even more shocked at Leena's response.

"I knew it!" she breathed. Claudia's head snapped up.

"I'm sorry what?"

"Well, I didn't know about the Warehouse, obviously," Leena backtracked with a waving gesture. "But I always suspected that he was involved in something that he kept secret."

Martin was gaping at her.

"You what?"

Leena was digging around in the backpack she'd retrieved from the dorm room.

"I went looking through the attic at our place a couple of years ago," she said over her shoulder. "I don't even remember what I was looking for, probably a book, but I found some boxes that had Dad's handwriting on them. Most of it was just clothes, but I found," Leena paused as she turned around, "this." In her hand was a thin rectangular box, dull gold in colour and rounded at the corners.

"Oh my God, is that a Farnsworth?" Claudia shrieked, taking the offered item from Leena's hands. She turned it over and flipped it open, and let out an excited squeal.

"Holy antiquated contraption, it is a Farnsworth!" she cried. "Jinksy, look!"

Steve was watching her with a bemused expression.

"It's oddly amusing watching you get excited about outdated technology," he commented. Claudia screwed up a piece of scrap paper and threw it at him and then turned back to the twins.

"This was our communication device back at 13," she explained, stroking lovingly at the dials. "They worked anywhere in the world. I even customised mine. Sadly, 14 figured out a way to harness generic cell phones to do the same thing, and old Farnsy here got retired."

Martin was staring Leena down.

"You didn't think to share this with me?"

"We were 14," Leena shot back. "You were especially bossy at that point. You would have gone mad at me for being in the attic."

"Just FYI," Claudia cut in, "this wasn't Pete's Farnsworth."

Leena looked disappointed.

"It wasn't?"

"No," Claudia confirmed. "Pete's Farnsworth was dented from all the times he dropped it, and generally, had a permanent barbecue sauce glaze." She wrinkled her nose at the memory as Steve chuckled softly.

"So, if that didn't belong to our Dad, who did it belong to?" Leena asked. Claudia went pale.

"Oh no," she squeaked, swinging the chair she sat on around so that her back was to the twins. Martin took a step forward.

"Aunt Claudia?"

"Oh no, oh no, oh no," Claudia was whispering under her breath.

"Aunt Claudia," Leena pressed. Claudia let her head fall onto the desk.

"It's Myka's," she mumbled. "Oh, I am so dead right now."

"Myka's? As in, Mom's?" Martin sounded dumbstruck. "Mom was a Warehouse agent?"

Claudia slowly swung around to face Martin and Leena.

"Bering and Lattimer," she said softly. "Best team of agents we ever had."

"Huh," was the only response Martin could come up with. Claudia turned to take in Leena's face, and then recoiled slightly.

"Oh boy."

Martin followed Claudia's gaze, and then drew in a sharp breath. His sister's face was thunderous, her eyes glimmering with rage.

"Why are you going to be in trouble for telling us about Mom?" Leena asked evenly, her voice not betraying the emotion etched all over her face. Claudia looked pained, and she shot a pleading glance at Steve. Steve pursed his lips but said nothing. Claudia sighed.

"Myka pretty much had two rules for me after your dad died," she murmured. "One, you guys were never to be told about the Warehouse, and two, you were never to know that she was involved with it either."

Leena appeared to stop breathing for a moment, and then she exploded.

"How dare she?" she screamed, balling up her fists. "Why is this woman insistent on trying to ruin my life? How dare she? She can't just pick and choose when she wants to be a parent! "

Leena let out a frustrated bellow and began to pace, pulling at her hair as she continued to berate her mother in heated tones. Martin reached for her, and she swatted him away angrily.

"Don't," she hissed, her eyes flashing. When Martin opened his mouth to speak, Leena spat out a string of words in a language Claudia didn't recognise and then strode towards the office exit.

"You need to let me out," she said pointedly at Steve. Steve rose slowly from his chair.

"Leena," he tried gently.

"You need. To let me out," Leena repeated, practically spitting out each word. Steve looked to Claudia, who nodded resignedly. Leena had already disappeared in the entry corridor by the time Steve left the office. Claudia looked at Martin, who sank down on a desk chair and put his head in his hands.

"Please explain to me what that was."

"The temper tantrum or the secret language?" Martin muttered around his hands.

"Both, preferably," Claudia replied.

"We made up a secret language around the time Dad got sick," Martin explained. "We didn't want him to know how scared we were. I don't even remember the last time we used it. But I haven't seen Leena that angry in a while either."

"And the Mount Lattimer explosion?" Claudia asked. Martin leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling for a moment. He swallowed hard before returning Claudia's gaze.

"Mom kind of checked out on us emotionally, Aunt Claud," he murmured. "She hasn't exactly been the most reliable parent since Dad died. We don't really function as a family unit. We definitely don't talk. Leena barely tolerates Mom. Mom barely tries to make contact. So to find out that she's set a rule that keeps us from, you know, this..." he shrugged as he trailed off. "I gotta be honest, Aunt Claud, I'm not exactly in the happiest place right now either."

Claudia rolled her chair forwards and placed a hand on Martin's knee.

"I'm sorry, Marty," she said softly. "If I'd have known..." She bit her lip.

"Can I ask... would you like a hug right now?"

Martin couldn't stop the small smile that tugged at his lips. He nodded, and then melted into her offered embrace.


	6. Chapter 6

Steve had let her out into the parking lot where they'd arrived that morning, and Leena had immediately found the fire stairs and climbed to the roof. She'd needed air and open space to clear the head of steam she'd built up. Leena hadn't lost her cool about her mother in a very long time, and she knew she was going to have to apologise to both Claudia and Steve when she went back down to the Warehouse, but right at that moment, she just needed time to think. She sat on the edge of the building structure, resting her arms and chin on the guard rail as she let her feet dangle. The iconic landmarks of Washington D.C. sprawled out before her, but she barely registered them as she mused over her thoughts. She'd lost track of time when she heard the fire door open.

"Leave me alone, Marty," she called over her shoulder. "I don't want to talk."

"Not Marty," Bailey responded as she settled herself on the building edge next to Leena. Leena glanced over at her.

"They seriously sent you up here?"

"Nope," Bailey said. "I finished my book, and my Mom and Dad took your brother down to the Warehouse floor. No one said I couldn't come and find you."

Leena smiled softly as she turned her gaze back to the D.C skyline, and the girls sat in silence for a while, the only noise the soft thunking of Bailey's sneakers kicking against the side of the building. Leena glanced over at Bailey again.

"So why do you hate day camp so much?"

"My Dad wants me to hang out with kids my own age," Bailey answered, still staring out over the city. "He just wants me to be normal, but I don't really like people my own age. They're not very smart."

Leena let out a short laugh.

"You're very blunt, Bay," she said. Bailey shrugged.

"I'm not like the other kids I go to school with. They all just want to watch TV and play baseball and stuff. I like to read, and build stuff, and hang out with my Mom." She blew her bangs out of her eyes. "The other kids make fun of me."

"For reading?" Leena asked incredulously.

"For that, and for being so short," Bailey told her. "And for... other stuff."

Leena didn't push; Bailey was clearly embarrassed by her own admission.

"Kids can be harsh, Bay," Leena told the girl. "But there's nothing wrong with being different. I have a little sister, did you know that? I told her just last night that it's our imperfections that make us beautiful."

Bailey offered her a half grin, and pulled a tube of Starbursts out of her pocket. Leena accepted the offered candy, but nearly choked on it when Bailey blurted out her next question.

"Why do you hate your mom?"

"That's a loaded question, Bay," Leena wheezed, swallowing hard. "Probably way too much information for you to handle."

"Try me," Bailey said, giving Leena a look. Leena huffed out a breath.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," she started, before unleashing her story, filling Bailey in on the times Myka had missed her dance recitals and Martin's basketball games, and had even forgotten their 16th birthday. She told the little girl how it felt to lose her father, and then watch her mother turn away all at the same time.

"You're really lucky to have your parents, Bailey," Leena finished. "They clearly just want what's best for you. They love you."

"I'm sorry about your dad," Bailey said. "I wish I could give you some advice about your mom, but, I'm nine."

The laugh that bubbled out of Leena surprised her. Bailey looked oddly proud of herself as she swung her legs around and stood up.

"There are some really cool artifacts in the Warehouse," she stated. "I bet my Dad will let me show you if you ask."

"You are so sneaky, kid," Leena told her as she followed her back down the fire stairs. "I have one question though. How do we get back inside?"

Bailey pulled a disc out of her pocket, and Leena rolled her eyes.

"Great, the nine year old has clearance to enter a top secret facility, but I don't."

"Sucks to be you," Bailey grinned.

* * *

><p>They'd returned to the Donovan-Jinks house that evening to find a full home-cooked meal prepared by Nola. After dinner, Claudia excused herself to make some phone calls, so Steve showed the twins to the family room. Bailey tried to follow them, but Steve insisted on her heading to bed, and when the girl resisted, Steve had firmly tucked her under his arm and carried her away. Martin sank into a recliner and sighed, while Leena padded over to the well stocked bookshelf in the corner. She selected a dog-eared copy of Harry Potter off the shelf.<p>

"You wanna talk?" Martin asked softly. Leena glanced up for a moment and then shook her head as she settled herself into the corner of an overstuffed couch. Martin watched his sister for a moment before reaching for the television remote and finding a basketball game to watch, keeping the volume low. The comfortable feeling that followed reminded Martin of the times he and Leena had retreated to their grandparents' house over the years, when the pressing silence of their own home had grown too much to bear. After about half an hour, Leena gently shut her book and pushed herself to her feet.

"Bed time," she told her brother, who nodded in reply.

"I'll be up in a bit."

Leena swung past the kitchen on the way upstairs, and was thrilled to find a plate of chocolate chip cookies on the bench. She helped herself to a couple, biting into one as she walked up the stairs as quietly as she could. She was headed to the spare room when she heard someone softly call her name. Steve beckoned to her from his study, backlit by a glowing computer screen. Leena leaned against the doorframe.

"Hi," she said, offering the spare cookie in her hand to him. Steve declined, and Leena grinned as she popped the cookie into her mouth. Steve chuckled.

"You are so much like your dad," he told her, indicating for her to take a seat on the spare chair in the room. Leena blushed as she wiped the crumbs off her face. Steve spun back to his desk for a moment, pushing aside a stack of papers to retrieve what he was looking for.

"I found these," he told Leena, holding out his hand. "I thought you might like to see them."

Leena realised that he was holding out a stack of photographs. She reached for them hesitantly, and then let out a shaky breath.

"Daddy," she whispered, her eyes immediately zeroing in on Pete's face. She flicked to the next photograph, where a group of people smiled back at her.

"Hey, it's you and Aunt Claudia," Leena remarked, then squinted at the photo. "Aunt Claud looks nearly exactly the same as she does now."

"Caretaker perk," Steve explained with a wry grin. "That's me and Claud, obviously, and that's your dad. And this," he pointed to a young woman with caramel coloured skin and a mass of wild curls, "this is Leena. She's who you were named after."

"She worked at the Warehouse too, right?" Leena asked. Steve nodded.

"She was kind of like a house mother," he said. "But very, very in tune with the Warehouse. Your mom was heartbroken when we lost her."

Leena barely paid heed to her mother's coy grin in the photo before her, instead asking about the portly older man with the salt and pepper beard that was the last person in the shot.

"If Leena was the mother, Artie was the father," Steve told her. "Especially to Claudia. But we all looked up to him. He dedicated his life to the Warehouse. He was a brilliant man."

"Was?" Leena asked. Steve blew out a breath.

"He died last year," he said softly. "He was an old man, and he'd lived a fantastic life, but it still hurt. I've been trying to live up to his legacy, but they're big shoes to fill."

The next photograph in the pile brought a lump to Leena's throat. Her father was pointing and laughing at the photographer, while her mother's attention was focused fully on the man who had his arm wrapped around her shoulder. Myka looked positively blissful.

"They were hardly ever apart, you know?" Steve commented. "Even before they realised they were in love, they were the best of friends. It's why they made such a good team. They completed each other."

Leena swallowed hard and arranged her face into a neutral expression. When she tried to hand the photographs back to her uncle, Steve shook his head.

"Keep them," he said with a smile. Leena got to her feet, and headed to the door.

"Good night, Uncle Jinks," she murmured. "Thanks."

Steve smiled gently and turned back to his computer. When Leena slipped into the spare room she perched on the sofa, flicking absently through the stack of photos until she came to one of Pete and Myka in the Warehouse, posing with an artifact. It made her gears grind all over again that her mother had tried to deprive her and Martin of something as big as the Warehouse. It was obviously a place her parents had both loved, and to keep that a secret... Leena threw the pile of photographs on the table next to the bed so that Martin could find them later. She'd already decided what she wanted to do was make the most of opportunity she had in front of her, and to make her father proud.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I am super encouraged by follows and reviews. Thank you :)**

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><p>The next few days were jam-packed with everything Warehouse related. Bailey begrudgingly returned to day camp on Steve's insistence, and Jazz took off to follow up on a potential artifact in Florida, leaving the twins in the care of Claudia and Steve. Martin had looked disappointed at Jazz's departure, leaving Leena rolling her eyes. Claudia had shown them the neutraliser production center with an air of theatricality. Leena had stared in awe at the giant vats that glowed purple.<p>

"What's it made of?" she asked.

"Secret family recipe," Claudia had grinned, tapping the side of her nose. "All you need to know is that this stuff is tried and tested. We find an artifact, and we goo it. Then things stop going kablammy."

Martin had been more impressed with the Bronze sector. He let out a low whistle as he flicked through the list of names that the sector housed.

"You ever worry that one of these bad boys is going to get free?" he asked Steve, who had brought them down to the sector. Steve shook his head and indicated a small white bowl hooked up to the monitor.

"DNA sample required," he said. "Only Claudia and the Regents can activate the machine."

Explanations about the Regents, and Claudia's position as Caretaker, took them into long evening discussions over Chinese takeout and ice cream. If the discussions took place in the family home instead of the Warehouse, Bailey often joined them. It was clear that she'd been raised in the Warehouse, and she would often beat her parents to answering questions put forward by Leena and Martin. Leena couldn't help but feel that they'd managed to form their own little family unit in a matter of days, and she marvelled at how comfortable she felt. The Warehouse was had a homeliness to it that the house she'd grown up in had been sorely lacking. There was laughter at the breakfast table, and hugs good night at the end of the day. Leena felt love, and though she wouldn't say it out loud, she swore she smelled apples when she walked out on the Warehouse floor.

* * *

><p>Leena and Martin were studying records of artifacts already stored in the Warehouse on the day all three field agents returned to the office. They were all clearly in marvellous moods as they tripped in one after the other, throwing out jokes and laughter. Leena watched them for a moment with a smile before returning to her tablet, while Martin stared at Jazz so long that she looked up and caught his eye, causing him to blush as he hurriedly looked away. Steve accepted a large box from Jensen and Chester, who immediately launched into a winding tale regarding the artifact snag. Jazz placed her own small bag on her desk, shrugged off her jacket, and switched on her computer. She interrupted the man huddle to ask Steve a question, and when he nodded, she picked up her artifact bag and sauntered over to where Leena and Martin sat.<p>

"Lattimer," she said, and the twins looked up as one. Jazz smirked.

"Sorry Scamp," she apologised to Leena. "I want your brother."

Martin fumbled with his tablet as he started coughing uncontrollably. Leena reached over and took the device from his hands before he broke it.

"Come on Marty, I'm going to show you how to shelve a new artifact," Jazz said with a smile, holding up her artifact bag expectantly. Martin scrambled to his feet.

"Don't hurt yourself, stud," Leena quipped, returning to her reading. Martin glared at his sister, but it lost some of its impact when he tripped over the rug under the coffee table. Jazz was already halfway down the stairs to the Warehouse floor by the time Martin caught up to her, and she turned her head to flash him a grin. Martin swallowed hard and gave a shaky smile in reply. When they got to the floor, Jazz pointed towards a dispenser mounted into a pylon.

"Glove up," she ordered, and Martin removed two purple gloves from the dispenser, snapping them on quickly. Jazz handed him the artifact bag so that she could put on her own set of gloves, then drew up a touch screen monitor at the end of a row of shelves.

"I already did some research on my way back from Florida," she said to Martin as he stepped up beside her. "Basically, we try to keep artifacts that might react to each other's energy in different parts of the Warehouse. To the untrained eye, it can make the filing system look a bit haphazard, but it's really organised chaos."

"What did you end up snagging anyway?" Martin asked, holding out the artifact bag in front of him. It was the size of an A4 page, and barely weighed a thing. Jazz tapped at the screen for a moment, waited until she got the response she wanted, then flipped it shut.

"Come on, we're headed to Broadway," she said, "which is all the way down the back, so we'll take the runner." She reached over Martin's shoulder to smack a round orange button. Martin was momentarily distracted by the scent of her perfume, but soon registered the activation of a moving walkway.

"The artifact, by the way, is Hugh Hefner's dressing gown," Jazz told Martin as they stepped onto the runner. "I'm really good at folding."

"Hugh Hefner, like the old dude with the bunny girls?" Martin asked, trying not to be distracted by the shelves of artifacts they were rolling past at considerable speed. Jazz laughed as she nodded.

"Yep, that wrinkly old prune," she confirmed. "A group of retirees in South Beach were using it to lure in trophy wives."

"Are you sure they weren't actually women looking for a sugar daddy?" Martin asked. Jazz shook her head.

"These women were investment bankers, lawyers, doctors," she rattled off. "They quit their jobs within 24 hours of meeting these men, and within a week, were reduced to acting like spoiled teenagers with daddy's Amex."

"So not good then," Martin winced. Jazz nodded earnestly, and then took stock of their location.

"You ready?" she asked. "We're almost there."

"We just jump?" Martin asked cautiously. Jazz reached out and linked her hand with his.

"Just follow my lead," she smiled. Even with a purple glove barrier between them, Martin was suddenly trying not to hyperventilate about the fact that Jazz was holding his hand. He only jumped as a continuing motion of Jazz's movement, landing heavily and nearly knocking Jazz over. She put a hand on his chest to steady him.

"We need to work on your landing, Lattimer," Jazz teased. Martin gave a wobbly laugh and then rolled his eyes at himself as Jazz turned away. He followed her to the end of the aisle they stood in and turned right with her until they came to a row of purple mannequins displaying an array of clothing.

"Welcome to Broadway," Jazz performed a theatrical turn, causing Martin to grin. Jazz took the artifact bag back from Martin and made to unseal it.

"Watch your eyes," she warned, and sure enough the dressing robe sparked a little as she removed it from the bag.

"Old Hef's still got some kick in him," Jazz remarked, settling the robe onto a bare mannequin. She showed Martin how to set up the visual display for the artifact, drawing through the details that she'd already entered at the main screen back near the office. Martin couldn't help but notice that Jazz pressed herself right up against him as they worked, meeting his eyes several times and smiling coyly. When she was satisfied that her artifact was shelved appropriately, Jazz took a step back and peeled off her gloves. Martin followed her lead.

"While we're all the way down here, let me show you something," Jazz said, beckoning to Martin to follow her. Martin rounded the corner with her and was once again presented with the enormity of the Warehouse. As he gaped in awe, Jazz danced around the display of neon signs and theatre marquees.

"Seriously, is this not the coolest place in the world?" she laughed. Martin knew he should be looking at the collection of signs, but he was too busy taking in the happy young woman in front of him. She made him smile uncontrollably. Jazz skipped back to him and bumped him lightly with her shoulder.

"That Lattimer smile is so charming it should be an artifact," she quipped. Martin blushed and glanced at her sideways. Jazz gave him a coy and confident grin.

"You're cute, Marty Lattimer," she told him, reaching for his hand again.

"You're pretty, Jazz Crenshaw," Martin replied, shocking himself with his own sudden boldness. Jazz's laugh echoed throughout the open Warehouse space.

"Come on," she giggled, tugging on Martin's hand. "Let's get back, before people start to talk."

Unable to resist her exuberant charms, Martin grinned stupidly and allowed himself to be led back into the Warehouse labyrinth.

* * *

><p>"Are they gonna kiss?" Bailey asked, chewing on a Twizzler as she stepped away from the telescope mounted on the balcony. Claudia lowered the set of binoculars that she was using and put a finger to her lips.<p>

"Shush, Bay, you'll get us busted," she stage-whispered. Bailey grinned around her candy.

"They're gonna kiss."

"Who's going to kiss?"

Claudia shot her daughter a look as Leena stepped out onto balcony.

"See, I told you."

"Jazz and your brother," Bailey told Leena with a grin. Claudia threw her hands up in the air.

"Honest to God, child!" she cried. Bailey laughed and took off back into the office. Rolling her eyes and shaking her head, but smiling all the while, Claudia leaned against the balcony rail and gazed out at the Warehouse. Leena joined her.

"I wouldn't worry about anything going on between Martin and Jazz," Leena told her. "Marty's never kissed a girl."

Claudia looked over at her in awe.

"Really?"

"No word of a lie," Leena said with a wry smile. Claudia shook her head in disbelief.

"You're telling me the spawn of Pete Lattimer has never kissed a girl?" she asked. "Never?" Her eyes suddenly widened.

"Wait, is Marty gay? Because the irony in that would be delicious."

"No, he's not gay!" Leena laughed. "He just sucks with girls. He always has, which is weird considering he grew up surrounded by women. I guess without Dad around to show him the ropes..." she shrugged as she trailed off.

"And you?" Claudia asked. "Do I need to give you the birds and bees talk?"

"Definitely not," Leena said quickly. "I figured it out for myself."

"Why do I get the feeling that this is not a good story?" Claudia asked. Leena rested her forearms on the balcony railing.

"Mom forgot our sixteenth birthday," she said softly. "I thought I was used to her blanking us out, but our birthday... I dunno, it just really upset me. I called some of the cheer squad, they found a house party in the next town over, and I ended up talking to this guy. I was just trying to forget about Mom..."

"Oh Leena," Claudia murmured, sliding a hand over Leena's arm. "Were you drinking?"

"I don't drink," Leena told her. "Neither does Marty. Alcohol is what killed our father."

Claudia nodded acceptingly, but didn't remove her hand from Leena's arm.

"Just promise me you were careful," she said softly. Leena nodded as she hung her head. Claudia pressed a kiss onto Leena's temple.

"I know I missed a whole lot, kid, but I never stopped thinking about you and your brother," she murmured. "I hope you'll always feel like you can come to me."

Leena leaned against Claudia, then suddenly scrunched up her face in confusion.

"Jazz is twenty, and beautiful," she stated. "What on Earth would she see in my brother?"


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N - so last night I had the 'pleasure' of watching Joanne Kelly in a godawful Hallmark daytime movie called Playing House. Best $2.50 I ever spent lol. **

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><p>Martin ducked as instructed as Steve dropped their latest artifact into a neutraliser bag, sending sparks flying. The pair stood in the middle of a field in Pennsylvania, surrounded by cows that just moments earlier had been threatening to trample them down, but had now returned to their casual grazing.<p>

"Well, that was weird," Martin remarked. Steve shrugged.

"On the Warehouse scale, not so much," he said, starting back towards the paddock gate. "Watch out for cow pats."

They had still been at the house that morning when Jazz had called through with a potential ping. Jensen and Chester were in Denmark, and Claudia had requested that both Jazz and Leena make an appearance at the intern program to keep up the facade.

"Take Martin with you," Claudia said to Steve across the breakfast table. Martin's eyebrows had shot up.

"Really?"

"Is that a Caretaker request, or an Aunt Claudia request?" Steve asked. Claudia leant back in her chair with a smirk and said nothing. Steve had rolled his eyes, and then beckoned to Martin to follow him to the car. Eight hours and a cow stampede later, their artifact was snagged and bagged.

"You handled yourself pretty well, Marty," Steve told him as they climbed into Claudia's Prius, having left the SUV back in Bethesda. Martin tried to arrange his face so he didn't beam with pride.

"It was kind of fun," he commented. Steve laughed as he turned the car back onto the main road.

"Trust me, they're not all that easy," he said. "You should get Jensen and Chester to tell you some of their snag stories. Jazz has one or two of her own as well."

Martin felt his face grow warm at the mention of Jazz. The pretty blonde had been gently flirting with him for days, making her interest in him clear. But every time Martin tried to speak to her, he faltered. Girls who weren't his sisters made him very nervous.

"Uncle Steve, can I ask you something?"

"Of course man," Steve said. They were stopped at a set of traffic lights, and Steve leaned across Martin to open the glove compartment. His mission was successful; he unearthed a half eaten pack of gummi bears.

"Where Bailey goes, candy follows," Steve grinned, tossing Martin the bag after grabbing a handful for himself. Martin watched his uncle for a moment.

"Say you liked this girl," he started, and Steve laughed.

"Not much danger of that happening, bud."

"Fine, say you liked someone," Martin tried. "How would you go about telling her?"

"Marty, are you asking me for advice on how to talk to Jazz?" Steve asked, tossing a couple of gummi bears into his mouth. "I can honestly say that I would never have expected to have this conversation with a Lattimer."

"Girls kind of freak me out," Martin admitted sheepishly. "They're all so pretty and confident and they smell good... they ask me questions and I open my mouth and nothing comes out."

"Jeez dude, you got it bad," Steve commented. Martin raised his eyebrows.

"You're not helping."

"So you've never had a girlfriend before?" Steve asked, and Martin shook his head.

"I took our cousin Bianca to prom," he blushed.

"Marty, as you can imagine, I haven't exactly had a lot of experience with girls myself," Steve said, braking as he turned a corner. "But from what I've seen over the last couple of days, Jazz is into you."

"I cannot figure out why," Martin muttered, sinking down into the passenger seat.

"Marty, bud, you're handsome as hell," Steve told him. "Your dad passed you every good physical gene he had. And to top it off, you're smart, and switched on, and Jazz is a superb reader of people. She knows what she wants."

"So how do I talk to her without sounding like a complete idiot?" Martin asked.

"You could just kiss her," Steve suggested with a shrug.

"You're insane," Martin told him, giving him a wide eyed stare. Steve grinned.

"Buddy, the best advice I can give you is to be yourself," he said. "She already likes you. That's the hardest part already over. The rest... it'll just come when it's supposed to."

They drove on in silence for a few minutes, and then Martin glanced over at Steve.

"You are the worst advice giver in the world," he commented. "Be yourself? What is that?"

Steve burst into laughter.

"Come on, man, I have a daughter!" he chuckled. "And she's nine! When she wants to know about this stuff, I'm sending her to Claudia. Though Lord knows that has the potential to end in tears."

Martin flicked a gummi bear at Steve and grinned as he rolled his eyes. Steve turned on the radio as they hit the motorway, and they drove on back to what to Martin, surprisingly, was very much beginning to feel like home.

* * *

><p>The Lattimer twins learned that some days, the Warehouse was just quiet. On the slow days, Jensen and Chester tended to make themselves scarce, Jazz would keep up appearances on the Smithsonian front, and Steve looked into general Warehouse maintenance.<p>

"I caretake," Claudia responded when Martin asked her how she filled the time. Martin took that to mean that she spent the day on the internet, as there were times when it seemed like Claudia had a tablet permanently glued to her hand. That being said, it was also clear that there were things that Claudia dealt with that she did not share with anybody, not even Steve or Bailey. The twins both recognised the bond Claudia shared with the Warehouse. She looked especially at peace one particularly slow day. Claudia, along with the twins, was sprawled out over the eclectic furniture in the alcove, reading as always from her tablet. Martin and Leena were playing an antique board game, one that Claudia had assured them wasn't an artifact. They both looked up at the happy humming noise Claudia made. She looked satisfied.

"This is such a retro little scene," she smiled. "Home sweet home."

Leena moved her game piece forward.

"Did you guys ever used to have days like this, back at 13?" she asked. Claudia switched off her tablet and settled back in her chair.

"We never really just hung out in the Warehouse," she said. "We all lived at the B&B, so we were more likely to be there. Jinksy used to kick my butt at Scrabble."

"And our parents?" Martin asked.

"Pete liked TV show marathons," Claudia grinned ruefully. "Myka would sit in the same room as him, pretending to read, but it was pretty obvious that she was watching too."

"She did that when we were kids too," Martin admitted, ignoring the sour look on Leena's face.

"I gotta say Lattimers, I'm actually impressed with you guys," Claudia said. "It's been what, three weeks now? And you haven't said a word to your mom about where you are."

"That would require talking to her," Leena said thinly. Martin rubbed his nose absently.

"You made it pretty clear that she wouldn't want us here," he said.

"Yes, you being here would definitely piss Myka off," Claudia commented. Her gaze moved from Martin to Leena, and she let out a moan.

"Oh no," she whined. "Oh man, why do I even speak sometimes?"

Leena's eyes had gone wide, like she'd suddenly had a revelation. Martin gave her a sidelong glance.

"Leena," he said warningly, drawing out her name. Leena didn't acknowledge him as she got to her feet, picking up her purse from a side table.

"Leena, be cool," Claudia pleaded.

"Is it ok if I go out?" Leena asked, seemingly ignoring both her brother and her aunt. When Claudia let out a strangled noise, Leena took it as an affirmative, and scampered down the stairs. Martin gave Claudia a horrified look.

"What are you doing?"

Claudia attempted to smother herself with a pillow in reply, so Martin followed her cue and buried his head in his hands.

* * *

><p>Myka and Phoebe had just returned home after running errands when Phoebe's cell phone started to ring. Myka made a dive for the fruit bowl that went flying as Phoebe swung a handful of shopping bags onto the kitchen bench.<p>

"Sorry," Phoebe winced, patting at her clothes and finally finding her phone in the back pocket of her jeans skirt. Myka shook her head as she smirked at her child's never-ending clumsiness. Phoebe's eyes lit up when she registered the name on her cell display.

"Hi Leena!" she answered enthusiastically. Myka turned to start loading their groceries into the pantry as Phoebe chattered excitedly to her sister. She got so lost in arranging their canned goods in order of expiry that she didn't notice Phoebe suddenly go quiet, and only turned around when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Phoebe was holding out her phone, her eyes wide.

"Leena wants to talk you," Phoebe said softly. Myka couldn't stop the shocked look from crossing her face.

"What?"

"Something weird is going on," Phoebe whispered. Myka took the phone from her daughter and held it to her ear.

"Leena?" she asked cautiously.

"Mom," Leena's voice was cold. "I need you to listen. I have something to say."

"Leena, I," Myka started, but was quickly cut off.

"Just listen," Leena snapped. Myka closed her mouth and did as she was told as Leena spoke, but as she listened, her grip on the phone tightened, and her breathing grew shallow. She could see spots forming in her vision.

"So now you know," Leena finished coldly. Myka managed a strangled squeak in reply. She could practically hear Leena rolling her eyes as the call rang off. Myka dropped Phoebe's phone onto the kitchen bench and clung on to the countertop for dear life. She could feel her stomach roiling. Phoebe rose from the dining room chair she'd been perched on and approached her mother.

"Mom?" she asked cautiously, reaching across the bench for Myka's hand. Myka looked up.

"I need you to pack an overnight bag," she told Phoebe evenly. "I'm going to drop you at Aunt Tracy's. I have to go to D.C. for a couple of days."

"Are you going to see Leena?" Phoebe asked. "Because I want to go."

"No!" Myka said sharply. Phoebe recoiled slightly. Her mother never even came close to raising her voice at her.

"I'm sorry Pheebs," Myka murmured, pushing back from the bench and heading for the stairs. "Now please pack a bag."

Phoebe watched her mother's retreating back and reached for her phone with a trembling hand. Her display screen still showed the smiling faces of her brother and sister. She wrinkled her nose in confusion, then sighed, stuffed the phone in her pocket, and rushed to follow her mother's instructions.


	9. Chapter 9

By the time Myka managed to get Phoebe organised it was too late to get a flight out of Denver. Myka quickly booked a ticket for the first flight the next morning, and then dropped Phoebe at Tracy's, before returning home and pulling up a number on her contacts list that she'd never imagined she'd dial again.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't tear your head from your shoulders right this second," she growled the moment Steve answered the call. She heard Steve's sharp intake of breath.

"Myka."

"My kids, Steve," she hissed. Steve had done his best to try and talk her down, failing miserably. Myka gave Steve her flight details, and he promised to have someone at the airport to pick her up on arrival. When Myka hung up the phone, she immediately wished she had Phoebe to hold, but more than that, she longed for Pete. It made her heart hurt. She climbed slowly out of her bed and stepped over to her walk-in wardrobe, where she pushed aside a stack of shoe boxes and retrieved a soft grey t-shirt from the shelf. The shirt was old, faded and threadbare in places, and it had long ago lost Pete's scent, but it was still his. Myka held the material to her face for a moment before shrugging the shirt on over her camisole. Wrapping her arms around herself, she padded into the hallway and towards her kid's bedrooms. She gently opened the door to Leena's room and peered inside. Myka couldn't remember the last time she been further than the doorway of Leena's room. She took in the pink and purple polka-dot comforter, the glow-in-the-dark stars stuck to the ceiling, and the Tinkerbell lamp, all things that showed that even though Leena put on all the airs of a grown-up, there was still a child inside of her. Myka closed the door again, feeling as though there was still a boundary there she couldn't cross. She stepped across the hallway to Martin's room. It was impeccably neat, books stacked neatly, shoes lined up against the wall. Myka took in the basketball trophies arranged symmetrically on the shelf, but located what she was looking for on the top shelf of Martin's bookshelf. She'd removed all photographs of Pete from the communal areas of the house, but it hadn't stopped her kids from displaying their own keepsakes. Martin possessed one of her favourite photos of Pete, one that Myka herself had taken in the first few weeks after she and Pete had surged headfirst into their relationship. Pete had the most genuinely happy smile on his face, and his eyes sparkled with flirtation. Myka choked on a sob that came over her without warning. She dropped the photo frame on Martin's desk and hurried from the room, but only made it back into the hallway before she collapsed against the wall, shaking uncontrollably. She slid to the floor and wrapped her arms around her knees as tears coursed down her face.

"I can't do this, Pete," she whispered pitifully, leaning her head back against the wall as she cried. "I miss you. I am not ok. Please help me." She wiped her nose with the back of her hand.

"Please help me reach our kids."

* * *

><p>She wasn't sure what she was expecting to see when she arrived at the Warehouse, but Myka knew what being punched in the gut felt like, and that was definitely how she felt. Even with all of the changes, she felt as though she'd been dragged back through time. The office was filled with the low hum of activity. Steve was ensconced behind a corner desk, flipping through a file as he sipped coffee from a mug stamped with a 'Me Boss, You Not' logo. An African-American man who Myka didn't recognise was seated on the couch, poring over a set of maps. Jensen, who had collected Myka from Dulles, quickly moved to join him. Myka started to tremble when her eyes lit on her daughter, who sat in front of a computer screen that clearly displayed a file on Lewis Carroll's mirror. Leena was engaged in a play fight with Claudia that involved throwing M&amp;Ms at each other over the computer desk. Claudia caught one of the candies in her mouth and let out a crow of victory, swinging around in her desk chair. Leena's happy laugh cut Myka through; she couldn't even remember the last time she'd hear Leena laugh so genuinely. Myka caught her breath as an automatic door on the other side of the room opened, and Martin walked into the office with a beautiful blonde girl at his side. Martin blushed as the girl reached up and poked him lightly on the nose, and then he grabbed her hand to peel off an all-too-familiar purple glove. Myka felt her hands ball into fists. The spots in her vision were back.<p>

"Claudia!" she bellowed. Every head in the office snapped up towards her. Claudia went white.

"Crap. Crappity crap crap," she squeaked, jumping to her feet. "Myka, hi. I, um, look..."

Myka took a step further into the room and shot Claudia a withering glare.

"One thing!" she shouted. "I gave you one rule, Claud!"

"Myka, I know!" Claudia whined. "But if you could just let me explain..."

By this point, Myka and Claudia were face to face. Myka poked a finger angrily against Claudia's chest.

"I am two seconds away from walking out of here and telling the Secret Service the exact location of the Warehouse," she threatened.

"No!"

All attention in the office suddenly shot to the far corner of the office, and Myka let out a gasp of disbelief as she took in a small girl standing at the top of a spiral staircase. She was pointing what Myka recognised as a mini Tesla gun directly at Myka.

"You took an oath!" the girl shouted at Myka. "You're not allowed to tell about the Warehouse!"

Myka took her gaze off the Tesla pointed at her to momentarily gape at Claudia.

"There is a child in the Warehouse!" she stated shrilly. "With a Tesla! A child, Claudia!"

"Uh yeah, she's mine," Claudia retorted.

"Bailey!" Steve yelled from the corner where he now stood behind his desk. "Put the Tesla down, now! Get down here."

"Dad! She's gonna tell!" Bailey cried, not taking her eyes or aim off of Myka.

"Bailey!" Steve's tone was forceful. Bailey screwed up her face in frustration, then exhaled loudly and banged the Tesla down on the banister. Steve quickly moved across the room and met Bailey at the base of the stairs. He gave her a stern look that softened as the little girl folded herself into him, burying her face into his side. Myka watched the scene unfold, her mouth half open in shock. She felt faint.

"This is not right," she said angrily to Claudia. "None of this is right. I want my children out of here, now."

There was the sound of throat clearing from the back of the room. The pretty blonde standing with Martin glanced at Claudia uneasily.

"The museum got a new shipment in today," she said softly, holding up her phone.

"Take Marty with you," Claudia told her. The girl nodded, gripping Martin's hand. The pair had to walk past Myka to get out of the office.

"Martin," Myka said hopefully. Martin met her eyes for moment, but hung his head and continued out of the office without saying a word. Myka gaped after him. When she looked back, Jensen was holding a map out to Claudia.

"Chester pinpointed the location," he murmured to Claudia. Claudia nodded.

"You need to take Leena," she murmured back. Leena, who had been watching the whole interaction from her desk chair with a cold expression, rose to her feet. Both Jensen and Chester looked uneasy with the direction from the caretaker, but all the same, Jensen beckoned to Leena to follow.

"Leena," Myka pleaded, reaching out to touch her daughter's arm. Leena yanked her arm away.

"Oh, so you can see me," she sneered. Myka pulled her hand away slowly.

"I didn't call you so that you could come here and be my mother," Leena hissed. "I called to make you realise you haven't got a say in what happens us anymore. So don't touch me. Don't talk to me." She huffed out a breath.

"That last part shouldn't be too hard. You didn't even bother to say hello."

She turned and flounced off before Myka had the chance to respond. Myka watched her go before turning back to find Steve, Claudia and Bailey all staring at her. Steve looked down at Bailey.

"Come on," he said gently. "We're going down to the floor."

Bailey looked up at him with concern.

"Is it safe to leave Mom with her?" she asked. Steve cracked a grin.

"Your mom is tough," he reassured her. Bailey shot a look at warning look at Myka, but eventually turned to follow her father out of the automatic doors. Myka folded her arms over her chest as Claudia turned to face her again.

"This is not ok, Claudia," she said hotly.

Claudia let her arms fall to her sides and blew a strand of hair out of her eyes.

"I know," she admitted. "I'm sorry Myka."

Myka shook her head and stared at her feet.

"Come on Myka," Claudia tried. "You know Pete would have wanted them to see this."

Myka's head shot up, her eyes flashing.

"No Claud," she growled. "Pete would have wanted to show them this. But he can't, so they shouldn't be here."

She pushed past Claudia and made for the staircase, stomping up to the alcove. Claudia looked around the now empty office and blew out a loud breath of frustration.

"Well... that's just craptastic," she muttered to herself. "Frack."

* * *

><p>Leena angrily drummed her fingers against the inside of the car door and huffed out a breath. She'd been stuck in the backseat of Chester's car for over an hour, while they idled in gridlocked traffic on the motorway. Jensen glanced back at her from the front passenger seat.<p>

"You're gonna put a finger through that door in a minute, kid," he commented. Leena glared at him, but moved her hand back to her lap.

"Is your mom normally that much of a firecracker?" Chester asked.

"No," Leena said sullenly, meeting Chester's eyes in the rearview mirror. "Normally she just gives up and walks away."

"I swear, in all the time I've known her, that's the first time I've ever seen Claudia look worried," Jensen said. "Myka Bering is one scary mama bear."

"Lattimer," Leena corrected quickly. "And there's nothing mama bear about my so-called mother."

"Sweetheart, I saw what I saw," Jensen said, taking a sip from the Big Gulp he'd insisted on stopping for before they left D.C.

"Dude, I swear, if you spill that in my car, I will end you," Chester warned. Jensen mugged emptying the cup onto the dashboard. Chester rolled his eyes.

"You are a child," he told his partner. He glanced again in the rearview mirror and caught Leena smirking.

"That's more like it, Scamp," Chester said, laughing as Leena moaned at the use of her nickname. "You need to be in a good mood on an artifact run."

"Then you two better keep acting like a married couple," Leena quipped. "Because whenever my mother is around, I am in the extreme opposite of a good mood."

Traffic suddenly started to flow, and Chester put his foot on the gas. Caught off guard, Jensen lost his grip on his drink, and as if in slow motion, wore the contents of his cup. The occupants of the car were silent for a moment, and then Leena burst into hysterical laughter. Chester tried to keep a straight face as he stared his partner down.

"You are so cleaning that up," he chuckled at Jensen's dripping face. Jensen wiped his hand down his face and flicked the soda residue at Chester, then cracked up when the result of his action was an undignified snort from the hysterical teenager in the backseat.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - Guys, sounds selfish, but I love reviews... so... please?**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N - guys, I got my hair cut and coloured like Claudia today! This is a big deal - my hair was brown and halfway down my back! I am in love with my new haircut.**

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><p>Claudia tentatively climbed the spiral staircase to the alcove. She'd been sitting in the office for hours, listening for any sound from Myka, but the older woman had been unnervingly quiet the whole time. Finally Claudia plucked up the courage to go upstairs and face whatever music she had coming to her. She found Myka sitting cross-legged in an armchair, hugging a cushion to her chest and gazing into space. Claudia cleared her throat, and held up the coffee mugs in her hands when Myka looked up and met her eyes.<p>

"Hot chocolate?" Claudia offered hopefully. Myka bit her lip but didn't offer a verbal response. Claudia took it as enough of an invitation to step forward and hand over a mug to Myka. She pulled a pack of Twizzlers out of her back pocket and threw it on the coffee table before settling onto the couch.

"This place reminds me of Artie," Myka murmured softly, breaking the silence. Claudia cracked an embarrassed smile.

"I may have filched some of his furniture," she admitted. "As old school as it was, Artie's little steampunk eccentricities made Warehouse 13 home. I wanted it to be home here too."

Myka took a small sip from her hot chocolate.

"I'm sorry I missed his funeral, Claud. I just couldn't..." she trailed off. Claudia sighed softly and placed her mug on the table.

"He'd be happy to see you here now," she said. Myka threw her head back.

"I don't even know how I even got here," she muttered. "I've missed so much. How did you even get to Caretaker?"

"This is going to be a flashback sequence, isn't it?" Claudia quipped. Her eyes grew hopeful as Myka's face softened slightly.

"Ok, ok, I need info," Myka admitted. "Fill me in."

Claudia squealed and clapped her hands. She grabbed a Twizzler and settled into a more comfortable position on the couch.

"OK, so you were there when Warehouse 13 shut up shop," she started. "I'm not sure how lost you realised I was though. I mean, you were already pregnant, and caught up in that newlywed haze with Pete. I don't hold it against you. But my world was kind of falling apart. 13 was my home. I don't think anyone will ever understand how grateful I will always be to Mrs Frederic."

"I always assumed it was just standard protocol that you would go with her to 14," Myka admitted. Claudia shook her head.

"Caretakers in the past haven't normally been associated with the Warehouse, at least not in a sense where they were aware of it. Even Mrs Frederic came into the role by default. So me getting the inside edge was kind of a new track for the Warehouse."

"Was Steve with you the whole time?" Myka asked, wrinkling her brow. "Because I always thought he went back to the ATF. He never said otherwise."

"That's what we told everyone," Claudia said. "But when he found out that I wasn't staying Stateside, he insisted on coming with us. Mrs F gave in and made him our bodyguard, which let's be honest, was super, because it turns out that 14 was not exactly in the friendliest place in the world."

Myka leaned forward to snag a Twizzler.

"Wait, did the government running 14 have issues with you guys?"

"It was just a little out of the old comfort zone," Claudia told her. "Having Jinksy around just made me feel safer, you know? Mrs F did not let up on the Caretaker schooling for a minute, and the 14 agents..." she rolled her eyes. "They were not you, Myka, let me put it that way."

Myka cracked a half-smile.

"Anyway, it was a rough decade and a bit," Claudia continued. "There's really not much on that highlight reel, except for Bailey of course. I do believe there was dancing and singing involved when the compass started to move again. Course then I had a heart attack when Mrs F said she was handing 15 to me. Thank God for the return to America, land of the familiar. First thing I did was make Steve the new Artie."

"This is going to sound silly, but I kind of always thought that would be me someday," Myka admitted softly.

"Yeah, well, you made it very clear by that point where you stood in regards to the Warehouse," Claudia quipped. Myka hung her head and bit into her Twizzler.

"You really don't seem to caretake like Mrs Frederic did," she commented around the candy.

"Ah, yeah, because I am Claudia Donovan, and let's face it, I'm fabulous," Claudia said. "You know how much I loved being a field agent, and the Warehouse is home. And I'm like, the boss, so what I say goes."

"How do the Regents deal with that?" Myka asked. Claudia grinned cockily.

"They have weekly meltdowns," she cracked. "But seeing as though this place runs a hundred times better than 14, I'm currently handling it."

"Where did Jensen and Chester come from?" Myka asked. "And that girl who left with my son?"

"Jester are FBI," Claudia told her. "They fell over an artifact during a murder investigation. Personally, I think Jensen got hit one too many times with a surfboard as a teenager, and Chester sucks at paperwork, but they're efficient enough on the artifact chase. And as for my girl Jazz," she paused to grin, "she's Artie's granddaughter."

Myka's mouth dropped open.

"Excuse me?"

"She's Scott's daughter," Claudia chirped enthusiastically. "Artie wrote to me about her all the time when she was a kid, and I knew straight away she was special. He requested that I introduce her to the Warehouse one day. Pretty sure he didn't mean while she was still a teenager, but... when we moved back here I brought her in as a summer intern. Jazz is fabulous, Myka. She lives and breathes Warehouse. She came back every summer until she finished high school, and then again when she started college, but I knew what she really wanted, and I gave it to her. After Artie died, I made her a field agent. Having a Nielsen here is a perfect fit."

"And now you've got my kids too," Myka said evenly. Claudia winced.

"Myka, I didn't go after them, I swear," she said pleadingly. "Though you have got to love fate putting Leena more or less on my rooftop. Marty found an artifact the same way you and Pete did your first time out. The kid has great intuition. He saved a guy's life."

Myka was staring Claudia down. Claudia pushed on.

"Myka, your kids are amazing," she gushed. "They took to the Warehouse like Harry Potter to Hogwarts. Leena's so passionate, fiery as hell actually, but she's practically got the Warehouse catalogue memorised. And Marty, aside from his complete inability to function around pretty girls, is just so enthusiastic about getting out in the field. They're a perfect fit here."

"Claud, they are teenagers," Myka stressed. "They just finished high school. They haven't got clue about where they fit in. They haven't lived. And the Warehouse is dangerous!"

"No offense Myka, but from what I hear, you wouldn't know if they've lived or not," Claudia said cautiously. Myka's face went hard for a moment, but then crumpled in defeat.

"Damn it," she whispered, burying her head in her hands.

"Myka, what happened?" Claudia murmured, sliding to the end of the couch and reaching out a hand to put on Myka's knee. "You and Pete and those kids made the perfect little family..."

"He made me promise not to leave him!" Myka cried, looking up at Claudia with pitiful eyes. "Pete was always so scared that people were going to leave him. He made me write it into our wedding vows. He said he'd be there! And then... and then... and then..." Myka was crying so hard that she was choking on her words.

"And then he left me," she finally sobbed out. "He left me, Claud. He was my whole world, and then he was gone without so much as a question as to whether or not I was ready for it."

Claudia felt her lip start to tremble.

"Myka," she whispered. "Honey, he left you three beautiful children to look after."

"They hated me," Myka whimpered. "Martin and Leena were absolutely besotted with Pete. They were his kids, so much more than they were mine. I mean, you can imagine it. He was the cool dad, and I was always the bad cop. I said bed time, he said ten minutes longer. I said no dessert, and then I'd catch him smuggling cookies up the stairs. I couldn't compete with that. And then he died," she choked on a sob, "and they just looked at me. Claudia... the resentment in their eyes. Leena especially. She's never said it, but it's clear. She would have preferred it if I'd died instead."

Myka paused to let out a shuddering sigh.

"Let's be honest, I wish it'd been me too."

"Myka, no," Claudia soothed, but there were tears streaming down her face as well.

"I couldn't face them," Myka said softly. "Phoebe doesn't remember Pete, and there's nothing of him in her face. But the twins, they are all Lattimer. And they look at me like I was the one who took their father away, and my heart is already so broken that I can't take any more."

Claudia pulled Myka up from her seat and wrapped her in a crushing hug. Myka wept, soul-destroying sobs that broke Claudia's heart. They sank down onto the couch together, and Claudia reached out and wiped the tears from Myka's cheeks.

"They're not all Lattimer, just so you know," she told Myka. Myka shook her head.

"Don't lie to me," she croaked.

"Myka, they read the manual," Claudia quipped. "It hasn't even been converted to an e-book yet. They read it in hard copy."

Myka looked at her dumbly for a moment, and then let out a laugh. Claudia chuckled and reached for another Twizzler. When she rested back on the couch and glanced at Myka, Myka was watching her with a cocked head.

"Claudia, can I ask a question?"

"Sure," Claudia shrugged.

"Where did Bailey come from?" Myka asked. "I mean, last time I checked, Steve was still gay."

Claudia leaned her head back on the couch and sighed, then looked back at Myka.

"Bailey is a gift, from the Warehouse," she said. Myka wrinkled her nose in confusion.

"We got whammied," Claudia explained. "To be honest, the details behind it are still hazy. We put me getting sick down to food poisoning. When it didn't pass and Vanessa came and took blood, I thought she'd just say I was working too hard. Steve fainted like a little girl at a One Direction concert when Dr V said I was pregnant. We had no idea what was going on, and it took us an age to find the artifact that did it to us. So long, that by the time we did, we'd kind of already bonded. Steve begged me to keep the baby, and I couldn't say no, because honestly, at that point, I wanted her too."

"So Bailey is actually Steve's daughter?" Myka asked, and Claudia nodded.

"He claimed the whole way through that he was going to treat her just like his own, and then she arrived and we ran the DNA test," she said. "Honestly Myka, I have never seen him more excited about anything. She's our beautiful girl. Bailey Olivia Donovan-Jinks."

Claudia was aware that she was grinning stupidly. Myka tucked her hair behind her ears.

"What are the downsides?" she asked cautiously. "No artifact comes without a price."

"Bailey's always going to be on the short side," Claudia answered. "And she's been known to have seizures. But medication helps. But you're a mom, Myka. You know as well as I do that she could have been born with horns and a tail and I'd still love her more than life. She's my kid." She grinned ruefully. "To be honest, the hardest thing at the moment is the fact that the older she gets, the harder it gets to convince people that I wasn't trying to audition for Teen Mom when I had her. The whole non-aging thing is really not working in my favour on that one."

"How old is she?" Myka inquired.

"Nine," Claudia told her. "I was so, so pregnant at Pete's funeral."

"I do not remember that," Myka admitted, rubbing at her eyes.

"Mmm, well, I think I can forgive that one," Claudia said. "You were rather otherwise occupied."

Myka chuffed out a sad laugh, and then raised an eyebrow.

"Did you ever think about having another baby?"

"What?" Claudia reacted far too quickly to be casual. "Huh? No, no no no. Why would we? We scored a perfect 10 without even trying."

Myka was smirking as she leaned forward and poked Claudia's shoulder.

"You so did," she accused. "You tried it!"

Claudia had gone scarlet.

"You cannot tell Steve I told you," she begged. "He'll kill me."

Myka looked like she'd won the lottery.

"Tell me!" she demanded.

"It was an unmitigated disaster," Claudia said, raising a hand to her head as she winced at the memory. "Seriously just a mess of awkward kisses and flailing body parts. By far the most embarrassing moment of my life, and you know I've had some absolute humdingers in my lifetime. We got completely hammered afterwards and swore to never speak of it again."

"And how's your heart?" Myka asked gently. Claudia bit her lip.

"Some days are better than others," she admitted. "Trust me to go and fall in love with my gay best friend."

"Well, Bailey clearly adores you," Myka said with a crooked smile. "She dove to your defence today, which is more than I can say for my kids, who just stood there and watched as a nine-year-old pointed a Tesla at me."

Claudia's mouth twitched as she tried to hold back a laugh.

"Myka, just so you're aware, those kids do love you," she said softly. "You're their mom."

"I honestly cannot even remember the last time either of them said they loved me," Myka admitted softly. "I screwed it up, Claud, and it's too late to get it back,"

"I beg to differ," Claudia told her. "You forget that we sit in the epicentre of a world of endless wonder."

"Oh, I have not forgotten," Myka said quickly, sitting up straight. "And believe me, I am still very, very angry at you right now."

Claudia winced.

"Damn it, so close," she muttered. Myka bit down on a Twizzler and looked at Claudia expectantly. Claudia puffed out her cheeks and glanced at her watch.

"I'm assuming you didn't check into a hotel," she commented, and Myka shook her head.

"Well, my house is full," Claudia said, getting to her feet, "but I'll take you to Jazz's apartment. She's got a spare bed you can crash on."

"You're going to let me stay?" Myka asked.

"Myka, please," Claudia scoffed. "As if you were ever going to leave."

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><p><strong>Was this an information overload?<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I see traffic. I hope that means people are liking this. This chapter is a series of smaller moments. They're all important, and they're all written with love. **

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><p>Steve could hardly remember the last time Claudia had crawled into his bed and demanded to be held. He was only lightly dozing when his bedroom door creaked open, and rolled over in time to witness his partner tiptoe into the room and launch herself at his bed. She didn't speak, only burrowed under the covers and curled up at his side. As Steve wrapped an arm around her, Claudia buried her face into his chest. They lay together in silence for a long while.<p>

"Thank you," Claudia finally spoke, her voice muffled against Steve's chest.

"What for?" Steve murmured. Claudia looked up and rested her chin on Steve's chest.

"For being here," she murmured back. "For staying. For being the best BFF in the world, and being an amazing father." Her lip wobbled slightly.

"For not leaving."

Steve lifted a hand and gently pushed Claudia's bangs off her face.

"Myka?" he asked. Claudia looked mournful.

"She's completely broken," she said softly. "The Myka we knew..."

"She lost her soulmate," Steve said. "I know we've all lost people in our lives, but to have that taken away..."

Claudia sighed sadly and curled tightly into the crook of Steve's arm. Steve pulled her close and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"I guess the best we can do is just be here to support her," he said.

"I just wish there was some way to make her see that the twins could help fill that hole," Claudia whispered. Steve gave her a look.

"I said support, not meddle," he said. Claudia pouted but didn't argue. The comfortable silence surrounded them again. Steve felt himself drifting back towards sleep.

"Are you staying?" he mumbled. Claudia shifted slightly as she made an affirmative whimper. Steve pulled her tightly against him.

"I love you, Claud," he told her, tucking her head under his chin. "And I promise to never leave."

"You better not," Claudia whispered sleepily. "I love you too."

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><p>Myka could barely contain her horror when the twins walked into the Warehouse the next morning. Claudia slinked over to the couch where Myka was sitting and gave her a pleading stare.<p>

"Please don't be mad," she begged. "I already told them off." She frowned.

"Part of me thinks they did it on purpose."

Myka blew out her cheeks impatiently and turned her gaze back to her children, who were being led to a set of computer chairs by Steve.

"Today, you learn how to write incident reports," Steve said sternly as he sat Leena and Martin down.

"But, but, head injury!" Leena protested, indicating the butterfly bandage above her left eyebrow. Steve gave her a put-on look, and Leena grinned.

"Fine!" she laughed. "Here's what my incident report is going to say. Jensen and Chester need to be put on a cardio routine. I ran six blocks, tackled a guy, and snagged and bagged an artifact before they managed to catch up, and even then the pair of them were sweating like they'd run the Boston Marathon."

"Duly noted," Steve said, trying not to smirk. "But I want it in writing."

Leena smirked and rolled her eyes as she swung around to face the computer. Martin gave Steve a pitiful look.

"I fell over a box and gave myself a black eye," he whined. "Do you really need that recorded?"

"I wish it had been visually recorded," Leena teased as she typed. Martin gave her a shove which caused her to dissolve into laughter. Steve shook his head, turned Martin around, and then headed to his own desk. Claudia turned to Myka.

"See, they're fine," she said, putting on her most innocent face. Myka chuffed out a disbelieving little laugh.

"Jazz did not stop talking about Martin the whole way here this morning," she murmured to Claudia. "Is there something going on there?"

"Not yet," Claudia smirked. "Your boy has no game, but we're working on it."

Myka pondered that comment as she sipped at the lukewarm coffee she'd been nursing for the previous hour.

"Where is Jazz, by the way?" Claudia asked.

"Oh, she said something about the gooery," Myka said. Claudia nodded.

"Myka, I'm really happy you're here, but I can't babysit you all day," she said. "I can trust you to take care of yourself, right?"

"Once a Warehouse agent, always a Warehouse agent," Myka told her with a rueful smile. Claudia winked at her.

"That's my girl," she smiled. She unfolded her legs and padded across the office towards Steve's desk, picking up a file as she went. Myka watched the scene in front of her from over her coffee cup, taking in Martin and Leena as they jostled playfully at each other. They seemed happy, and part of her really wanted to believe that they could stay that way, but for the most part, she still felt like she wanted her children as far away from the Warehouse as possible, before they suffered the same pain she still felt every day.

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><p>"She stared at us all day," Leena complained, sinking onto the couch in the family room at Claudia and Steve's. "I don't know what game Mom's playing at, but I don't like it."<p>

Martin didn't answer as he sat down next to her. He scratched at the three day growth on his face absently. He'd stopped shaving a few days earlier in the hope of looking older. Leena poked at her brother's cheek.

"You look like a homeless person," she teased. Martin pushed her away.

"Why are you always paying out on me?" he asked. "I'm nothing but supportive to you, and all you do is tease."

"I tease because I love," Leena pouted. "Sarcasm has gotten me through a lot in my life."

Martin gave her a look, and Leena smiled softly.

"Having you around helped too," she said. Martin rolled his eyes and leaned back on the couch. Leena settled up beside him and rested her head on his shoulder. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, which she waved in front of Martin's face. He snatched it from her hand.

"What's this?" he asked.

"You have a dinner reservation tomorrow night," Leena told him. "Aunt Claudia said you can take the Prius. You're taking Jazz on a date."

Martin gave her a horrified look.

"What have you done?"

"Giving you the support you've always given me," Leena said. "Marty, Jazz is totally into you, and you're dragging the chain."

"I'll make a mess of it," Martin murmured. Leena shook her head.

"It's not possible," she told him. "You're a Lattimer. We're awesome."

Martin shook his head.

"And what are you going to do with yourself, sister mine?"

"Oh, Jensen and I are going to play air hockey," Leena said flippantly.

"Jensen?" Martin asked incredulously. Leena wrinkled her nose in disgust at his tone.

"Oh, as if, Marty," she sneered. "The man is a dinosaur." She jumped up from the couch and held out a hand to her brother.

"Come on, I'll pick out what you're wearing tomorrow night."

"Why can't I pick my own clothes?" Marty asked, causing his sister to dissolve into giggles. "What? Why?"

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><p>Leena leaned against her pool cue and stared Jensen down. The older agent took a swig from his Budweiser bottle and analysed the table in front of them.<p>

"You are a shark, Leena Lattimer," he commented. Leena gave him a smug look in reply. Jensen took his shot, missing by miles, and Leena quickly sank another ball in reply. Jensen shook his head.

"Shark," he repeated.

"You're just embarrassed that I beat you in air hockey, and now this," Leena said. Jensen shrugged as he nodded in agreement. Leena wandered around the pool table and leaned against the wall next to Jensen. Jensen waved his bottle at Leena.

"Are you sure I can't get you a drink?" he asked. Leena pursed her lips and shook her head.

"I told you, no alcohol," she said. Jensen drained his beer and put the bottle on the sideboard. He watched as Leena picked the bottle up and absently started picking at the label.

"How's things been with your mom?" he asked. Leena didn't look up.

"She hasn't said a word to us in two days," she muttered. "So it's been just like home, really." She moved to the pool table and started racking up balls for another game.

"Ready for me to beat you again?" she asked sassily. Jensen took in the girl in front of him, all tight jeans on long legs, and long brown hair that fell in front of her eyes as she set the table up.

"Damn girl," he commented. "If you were just a few years older..."

"You still wouldn't stand a chance," Leena told him, giving him a dirty look. "You're practically old enough to be my father."

"I'm 35!" Jensen protested. Leena snickered.

"Fine, creepy uncle then."

Jensen played to break and actually managed to sink a ball. He leaned against his cue before taking his next shot.

"Your brother is a cool dude, right?" he asked.

"Duh, he's related to me," Leena answered with a smirk.

"If he hurts Jazz, I will go all weird creepy uncle on his ass," Jensen told her. Leena let out a squawk of laughter.

"I'd be more concerned about Jazz hurting Marty," she chuckled. "I love my brother to death, but he's a fish out of water when it comes to girls. He's probably sweating bullets as we speak."

"Jazzy's going to eat him alive," Jensen grinned. Leena grinned back.

"That's the plan."

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><p>Martin tried to as discreetly as possible wipe his sweaty palms on his jeans under the table. Jazz was smiling at him coyly from across the table, swinging a glass of wine casually between her fingers.<p>

"Thank you for bringing me out tonight," she said to him. "How did you know that this was my favourite restaurant?"

"Lucky guess," Martin stammered out, smiling shakily. He reached out to pick up his water glass, and as he did, Jazz stretched out her hand and took his. Martin inhaled sharply.

"Why are you so nervous?" Jazz asked. "It's just me, Marty."

"You just answered your own question," Marty told her. "You're Jazz Crenshaw."

"And you are Martin Lattimer," Jazz told him. "You are smart, and funny, and so, so good looking. It is killing me that you can't see how amazing you are."

Martin looked dumbfounded.

"You're the most beautiful girl I've ever met," he breathed out. "And I think you might be slightly crazy."

Jazz let out a laugh and gave his hand a squeeze.

"Just crazy about you," she smiled. "Do you want to get out of here? I know a great place for dessert."

Martin signalled for the bill, and the pair left the restaurant, Jazz quickly closing her hand around Martin's as she led him down the street.

"Talk to me," she encouraged. "Talk to me about anything."

"No pressure," Martin chuckled.

"College," Jazz suggested. "Tell me about how it felt when you found out you got into Duke."

Surprisingly, once Martin had a topic, he found it hard to stop talking. Jazz listened attentively as the topic swung from Duke to basketball, to high school, his friends and his sisters. The conversation paused long enough for them to order two tubs of gelato and settle onto a bench. Martin noted in his head their distance from the Smithsonian, and the extreme possibility that the Warehouse was directly under their feet. Jazz scooped up a spoonful of her choc cherry gelato and offered it to Martin. He allowed her to feed it to him. She gave him a satisfied smile, which caused him to grin.

"There it is again," Jazz said, and Martin cocked his head questioningly.

"That Lattimer grin," Jazz told him. "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. It's no wonder Myka fell for Pete, with a smile like that."

"Dad was definitely a charmer," Martin agreed. Jazz stuck her spoon in her mouth, as if mulling over her next thought.

"Do you think your mom and your sister will ever talk to each other again?" she asked softly. Martin stalled his answer by taking a spoonful of gelato from his own tub.

"Leena is by far the most stubborn person on the planet," he said. "She's my sister, and I love her, but she's so angry at everything and everyone, and my mom doesn't seem interested in dealing with that."

"But she turned up here," Jazz pointed out. Martin furrowed his brow.

"I still don't understand that," he admitted. "Mom's been so hot and cold for so long that I can never tell which way she's heading anymore."

"Do you think there's a chance for you and her?" Jazz asked. Martin looked over at her, and her earnest, trustful face.

"I miss her, Jazz," he said softly. "I loved my dad so much, and God I wish he was still here, but I miss my mom so much, and it kills me that she's right there and I can't reach her."

He took a shaky breath.

"Mom falls apart every time she looks at me," he told Jazz. "All she sees is Pete Lattimer. She doesn't even see me."

Jazz set her gelato aside and reached over to take his face in her hands.

"I see you," she said gently. Martin blinked away the tears that had formed in his eyes.

"When you're with me, I can't even see anyone else," he whispered back. Jazz cracked a dazzling smile.

"Now that was smooth," she told him, a blush creeping over her cheeks. She pulled him in close, their noses touching.

"Can I kiss you?" she whispered. Martin didn't answer, just tilted his head and placed his lips on hers. Jazz pulled away after a moment, her eyes shining. Martin's heart was racing.

"Wow," Jazz exhaled. Martin blushed.

"Wow?" he asked softly. Jazz nodded and bit her lip.

"Do it again," she murmured. Martin chuckled softly and moved in to oblige.

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><p><strong>Feel love? Give love!<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

It had taken Myka a couple of days to adjust to the differences between Warehouses 13 and 15. The stacks with their shiny steel poles and individual compartments lacked the homeliness of 13, though Myka had to admit the addition of the moving walkways and intercoms were welcome steps into modern technology. The intercoms and cameras were enough to convince Claudia that it was safe for Myka to walk the floor alone.

"Wear gloves," Claudia instructed. "Don't stare at anything too long. Don't..."

"Claud," Myka cut her off gently. "I know the ropes. Old hat, remember?"

Claudia chuckled softly.

"Of course, my bad," she said. "Go, wander. There's some cool new stuff down there. I think you'll be impressed."

Claudia had been right, there were plenty of new artifacts to take in, but all Myka saw at every turn was another opportunity for her kids to come face to face with danger. The amount of screens that presented an artifact downside as death was astounding. Myka imagined that it was a result of the state of the world over the previous twenty years, and the thought was rather depressing. She was about to head back to the office when something caught her eye. Wrapping her cardigan more tightly around her, Myka stepped down into an aisle, coming to a halt in front of an artifact at eye level. Horace Westlake Frink's Bronze Baby Shoes sat in front of her. Myka let out a shaky breath. She'd never had the opportunity to use the shoes, though Pete had talked at length about going back into his mother's memories and getting to see his father. Myka's hand twitched at her side. Just one touch and she'd be able to go back, and see Pete again. She reached out slowly.

"I know you aren't thinking about touching those without gloves," came a voice from the end of the aisle. Myka lowered her hand and lifted her eyes to meet Steve's gaze. He stood with his hands in his pockets, watching her carefully.

"Did Claudia send you down here to spy on me?" Myka asked, tucking her hair behind her ear. Steve shook his head and stepped forward to join her.

"Claud thought you'd be perfectly fine down here on your own," he said. "I however, had my doubts. Sorry, Myka. I could see it all over your face."

Myka folded her arms over her chest and sighed.

"Being back here, it's hard," she admitted.

"Not a lie," Steve acknowledged.

"If I could see him again, for just a moment," Myka whispered, staring at the bronze shoes. Steve put a hand on her shoulder.

"You'd never come back, Myka," he murmured. "People with much looser ties than yours have used that artifact and haven't been able to leave. I won't let you risk it."

Myka brushed at a lone tear that ran down her cheek.

"I know," she whimpered. "I'm not stupid. I just wanted..."

"I know," Steve said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"You're going to have to lead me away from here," Myka said after a moment. "I can't make myself walk away."

Steve huffed out a laugh and gripped her shoulders, turning her back down the aisle and towards the office. Myka bit her lip and looked up at him.

"You're a good Artie, Steve," she told him.

"No one could replace Artie," Steve said. "I'm a good Steve Jinks."

"That too," Myka said. Steve chuckled as they walked.

"It might be hard, Myka, but the Warehouse is glad you're back," he told her. Myka looked up at him as they walked.

"Steve, how do you feel about Bailey being in the Warehouse all the time?" she asked. Steve flared his nostrils slightly.

"I'd be lying if I said it thrilled me," he said. "When we were still with 14 I wanted her as far away from there as possible. Here though... she's older, and 15, well, it's ours."

"It doesn't worry you that she's going to get hurt?" Myka pressed.

"Bailey is Claudia's daughter," Steve chuckled. "I would be stupid if I thought she'd stay out of trouble here. But then I think back on all of the wonderful things we discovered here, and I realise that to deprive my child of that would be selfish."

"Steve, we all nearly died at some point because of the Warehouse," Myka said to him. "You actually did die!"

"But we all lived," Steve countered. "A lifetime of endless wonder. And at the end of it, that's what I want for my daughter. I just try to make sure she gets the chance to be a kid as well."

Myka stopped as they reached the stairs that led back to the office.

"I just want my kids to live a normal life," she said softly. "Does that make me a bad person?"

Steve shook his head as he smiled.

"I actually think that makes you a mom," he told her. Myka felt her lips tug up into a smile as she processed that statement.

"I guess it does," she murmured, following Steve back to the office. "Who'd have thought?"

* * *

><p>Claudia thrust a shoebox full of flash drives into Martin's hands and smiled brightly.<p>

"Archiving time!"

"Am I being punished?" Martin asked, raising an eyebrow. "Because whatever I did, I'm sorry."

"Think of it more as a hazing," Claudia grinned. "That box has been sitting around for a while... and you're here and I'm the boss."

"Where's Leena?" Martin asked.

"She's cleaning the air vents with Jazz and Bailey," Claudia told him. "Nice try."

Martin sank down into a computer chair and took in the box in front of him.

"Where do I even start?" he muttered.

"Personally, I'd treat it like a lucky dip," Claudia quipped. Martin's reply was cut off by the crackle of the intercom.

"Claudia?" Jazz's voice cut through the room clearly. "Are you there?"

Claudia leaned against the wall as she pressed the receive button.

"Yo Jazz, what's up?"

"Claud, Bailey just had a seizure," Jazz said gently. Claudia exhaled loudly.

"Frack," she groaned. "Is she ok, Jazz? She didn't fall out of a vent or anything, did she?"

"No, we were on the ground," Jazz replied. "Leena got her through most of it. I think Bay could use her mom right now though? Maybe a change of clothes too? We're down in Kaleidoscope."

"I'll be right there," Claudia said. "Just keep her calm." She switched the intercom off and rubbed at her temple. Martin looked concerned.

"Bailey's going to be ok, right?" he asked. Claudia started rummaging through drawers, and came up with a small pair of purple jeans and a girl's printed tee.

"She'll be fine," Claudia said, heading for the door. "Don't worry about Bay, she's made from tough stuff." She pointed at the box still in Martin's hands. "Archiving!"

Martin huffed at the door that closed behind Claudia's retreating back before placing the shoebox on the desk next to the computer. He rifled through the pile of flash drives for a small while, finding incident reports from 14, files on former agents, and several copies of a text in a language he couldn't read. He was about to abandon the task when the next drive he pulled from the box came attached to a key tag clearly marked with two names.

"Pete and Myka," he murmured. He inserted the drive into the computer and drew up the document list, finding a video file. Martin's fingers hesitated over the mouse for a moment, but he eventually cued up the file. He exhaled loudly when his mother appeared on the screen in a white dress, carrying a bouquet. Martin didn't know how, but somehow home footage of Myka and Pete's wedding had made it into Warehouse files. He leaned forward and rested his chin on his hands, watching and listening closely as his parents exchanged vows. It was when the footage moved to their first dance that a lump formed in his throat. The old song they were dancing to was burned into his memory. Martin was lost in the image of his father gently leading his mother around the dance floor when a sniffling from behind him caused him to start. He quickly paused the video and whirled around to find Myka standing behind him, tears coursing slowly down her face.

"Mom," Martin murmured. "I'm sorry. I..."

"Please don't stop," Myka croaked out. Martin bit his lip to avoid letting his mouth fall open in surprise. He turned slowly back to the computer and resumed the video. He felt Myka come up behind him, and he tried not to jump when she suddenly rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Do you remember this song?" Myka whispered.

"How could I forget?" Martin countered. "Dad would ask Leena to dance, and you would curtsey in front of me and say you would only dance with the most handsome man in the room. We were so small that you had to hold us as we danced." He paused to exhale shakily.

"We lived for those dancing hugs."

Myka's chin wobbled slightly. She sniffled again.

"Claudia put this whole wedding together in five weeks," she said softly. "We thought we could get away with it, but you two were determined to be seen."

Martin grinned gently. The soft curve of Myka's pregnancy was evident under the white dress she wore on the screen. Martin and Myka watched as on screen Steve rose to make a speech. Martin turned his head to stare at the hand that still rested on his shoulder. Myka followed his gaze.

"Oh," she whispered. "I'm sorry." She made to pull her hand away, and Martin reached up and quickly placed his hand over hers. He lifted his eyes to meet hers.

"Stay," he requested gently. Myka's breathing quickened for a moment. Martin gripped her hand tighter.

"You looked beautiful," he told her, nodding at the Myka on the screen. Myka made a soft humming noise.

"Can you put this back on the dance?" she asked. Martin looked up at her.

"Sure," he said hesitantly. "Why?" He cued the video back up.

"I would like to dance with the most handsome man in the room," Myka murmured. Martin turned his chair around and got slowly to his feet.

"I don't think the dancing hug is going to work anymore," he quipped. Myka let out a laugh as she looked her son directly in the eye.

"We can improvise," she said gently, offering out her hand. Martin took her hand and put his other hand gently on her waist. They began to waltz slowly, Martin keeping his eyes on his mother's. Myka swallowed hard.

"Martin," she started.

"Marty," he cut in. Myka cocked her head questioningly.

"It's Marty," her son told her. "Everyone calls me Marty. Martin makes it sound like I'm in some kind of trouble."

Myka nodded her acknowledgement.

"Marty," she tried again, testing out the feeling of the name. "I know it doesn't even come close to being enough... but, I'm sorry."

Martin exhaled loudly.

"Mom..."

"Marty, please," Myka said. "Please don't try and tell me that I don't have to apologise. I have been a lousy, unreliable, emotional train wreck of a mother, and I need to make this right."

"I wasn't going to say you didn't have to apologise," Marty murmured with a smirk.

"Oh?" Myka asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You definitely need to apologise, again and again," Martin told her, and Myka gave him a put-on look. Martin smirked.

"I just wanted to say that this is a pretty good start," he said, a blush creeping across his cheeks. "I missed you, Mom."

Myka lifted her hand to cup her son's cheek. Martin leaned into her touch.

"It's funny," she murmured. "You look so much like your dad, but at the same time... you're not him."

She let out a surprised squeak as Martin suddenly pulled her roughly into his arms and squeezed her tight, but relaxed into his hold. They were still standing that way when Claudia returned with the girls. Claudia was carrying Bailey in a bear hold, and the little girl had her face buried in her mother's shoulder, but Claudia's eyes widened over the top of Bailey's head. Jazz's face lit up at the scene. Leena's face however was murderous. She threw the bag she was carrying down on the ground, and Martin and Myka looked up at the sound. Leena looked like there should have steam coming out of her ears.

"Leena," Martin started, taking a step towards her.

"No!" Leena snapped, stomping around Claudia and Bailey with her fists clenched at her side. "Just, no."

"Leena, come on!" Martin cried. "This has gone on long enough."

"You have got to be kidding me!" Leena shouted. "This hasn't even gotten to the peak of long enough, Marty! Have you lost your mind? Did she hit you over the head? Do you suddenly have amnesia?"

"Leena, please," Myka tried, and Leena shot her a look at pure loathing.

"Don't you think for one minute that I even have the slightest interest in hearing what you have to say," Leena hissed. Myka took a step back. Leena glared at her brother.

"We're done," she told him angrily. "Do you understand that? Done." She didn't give him a chance to respond before she whirled around and stormed out of the office. Martin chased after her, shouting her name. Myka sank down into a desk chair and watched as Claudia lowered Bailey onto the couch. Claudia sat down and allowed her daughter to crawl into her lap.

"So you guys made up?" Claudia asked, stroking Bailey's hair. Myka cast a glance at the exit, where the sounds of her twins arguing with each other could be clearly heard.

"We took a step that way," she murmured. "But I don't know what to do about Leena."

"You don't do anything about Leena," Martin muttered as he stepped back into the office. "When Leena says she's done, she's done." He looked miserable, like someone had taken away his favourite toy. Jazz walked over and wrapped her arms around him.

"Marty, are you ok?" Myka asked hesitantly. Martin's face crumpled.

"She's not just my sister, she's my twin," he choked out. "Leena... I can't... if she doesn't..." He buried his head into Jazz's shoulder. Myka felt her heart break a little as she shot a pleading look at Claudia, who was suddenly holding Bailey a lot tighter. Claudia looked on the verge of tears herself. Myka cradled her head in her hands for a moment and then looked over at where Martin was pulling away from Jazz with a forlorn expression on his face. Swallowing hard, Myka got to her feet and stepped over to her son. She bit her lip and wrapped her arms around herself as she looked Martin in the eye.

"I will make this better," she said softly. "As your mom, I promise to try and fix this any way that I can."

Martin looked back at her with sad eyes and mirrored her lip bite. He gave her a slight nod.

"Ok," he whispered.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Myka and Pete's wedding song is "I'll Stand By You" by The Pretenders.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Traffic is up... I assume this means you guys are liking this!**

* * *

><p>Leena volunteered to stay at home with Bailey the next day, and Claudia very wisely didn't argue.<p>

"You know, I don't need a babysitter," Bailey commented, sticking a lollipop in her mouth. They were sitting in the family room, running a movie in the background, but neither of them was really watching it.

"Yeah, well, maybe I do," Leena told her. "Besides, Bay, you really scared me yesterday."

"I did?" Bailey asked incredulously.

"Of course, kid!" Leena cried. "One minute you're making a wisecrack about fire hydrants, the next minute you're on the floor with your eyes rolling back in your head."

"And that's what we call a seizure," Bailey said blithely. Leena shot her a look.

"I'm glad you're able to joke about it, Bay," she said. "For those of us who haven't witnessed it before, it's not fun. And if you do it to me again, I'll hurt you."

Bailey's face softened, and she crawled across the couch and into Leena's lap. Leena hugged the little girl close and kissed her forehead.

"You're my family now, kid," Leena told her. "It's my job to protect you."

Bailey couldn't hold back the thrilled look that crossed her face.

"I kind of think you're awesome," she admitted shyly. Leena winked at her.

"So are we braiding hair or painting nails first?" she asked. Bailey gave her a look.

"Do you even know me at all?"

"Bailey, there is glitter polish on your toenails," Leena said, "and your mom still wears little coloured pieces in her hair. You can act like a little tomboy all you want, but I see the truth." She poked Bailey lightly on the nose.

"I could use some girl time, kid. Help me out."

Bailey crawled off Leena's lap with a wry smile on her face and pulled open a drawer under the coffee table. She held up several nail polish bottles.

"Pink or silver?"

Leena held out her foot and grinned.

"Make them match yours."

"You know I had a seizure yesterday, right?" Bailey quipped as she uncapped a bottle. "I'm supposed to be resting."

"Shh, awesome people require pampering," Leena teased. Bailey got a devilish look in her eye, and ran a fingertip lightly up the arch of Leena's foot. Leena shrieked at the tickle, and scrambled to her feet. Bailey took off, squealing with laughter, and Leena couldn't help but laugh as she chased after her.

* * *

><p>"Myka can go with you."<p>

Three heads snapped towards Claudia, who stood at the base of the spiral staircase. She raised her eyebrows as she waited expectantly for the challenge. Myka rose slowly from her perch on the couch.

"Claudia, I'm a 50 year old woman," she stated incredulously. "I can't go artifact chasing."

"Myka, Steve is in his 40s, and even though I don't look it, I'm 40," Claudia's face grew pinched at the last fact, "and we go snagging regularly. Besides, Artie was a dinosaur and he managed it."

Myka frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I don't want these two," Claudia pointed at Jazz and Martin, "out alone right now."

"Claud, you can't be serious!" Jazz laughed. "When have you ever known me to be anything but professional when I'm on a case?"

"When you weren't dating an 18 year old Lattimer," Claudia cracked with a smile. "Come on team, artifacts are waiting!"

Martin glanced at his mother, who still looked hesitant.

"I'm game if you are," he offered. Jazz shrugged and nodded.

"I wouldn't mind learning a few tricks from a pro," she commented. Myka scoffed.

"I hardly think I qualify as a pro, Jazz," she said. "I've been out of the game for nearly 20 years."

"It's like riding a bike, Myka," Claudia commented, leaning on the staircase banister. "Please, go."

Myka tried to stutter out an argument, but could only throw up her hands in defeat and follow Martin and Jazz out of the Warehouse. Martin smirked at her as they rode the elevator up to the parking lot.

"Don't look so nervous," he said to her. Myka wrinkled her nose at him as the elevator doors opened. Jazz led them to her car, and Martin offered the front seat to his mother.

"I don't want a word about my driving skills," Jazz warned as she steered them out of the parking structure. "I suffer from minor road rage. It's just a fact."

Myka quickly buckled her seatbelt and shot Martin a slightly terrified look. Martin laughed and was about to reply when his cell phone started to ring. He flicked the receiver to face time as he answered.

"Hey Phoebe," he grinned. At the sound of her youngest daughter's name, Myka whipped her head around in panic and started signalling at Martin frantically.

"Marty, something is wrong!" Phoebe shrilled at her brother. Her eyes were frantic.

"Whoa, Pheebs, slow down," Martin soothed. "What do you mean, something is wrong?"

"Mom left to go to D.C., like, days ago, and she hasn't answered my calls or messages since then!" Phoebe cried. "Mom always answers my calls, Marty! I think something's happened to her, and to Leena."

"Phoebe, calm down," Martin said to his sister. "Mom's fine. She's right here with me." He swung his phone around so that the camera showed Myka to Phoebe. Myka quickly rearranged her face into a calmer expression.

"Hey baby," she said cautiously.

"Mom!" Phoebe shrieked. "Mom, what is going on?"

Martin watched his mother bite her lip hesitantly, and turned his phone back to his own face. Phoebe still looked panicked.

"Marty, did something happen to Leena?" she asked. "Why are you and Mom both in D.C.?" She leaned in close to the phone screen with a serious expression. "Did Leena get taken in by the government?"

"What?" Martin laughed. "Pheebs, I have no idea what movies you've been watching, but you need to ease off. Leena's fine."

"Marty, you and Mom and Leena do not coexist in spaces together," Phoebe stressed. "Something is happening, and you're not telling me."

"Hey Phoebe," Martin said gently. "Mom and I made up."

Phoebe's face went slack for a moment, and then she let out a shriek of delight that actually caused Jazz to swerve. Myka made a hurried grab for the dashboard.

"Are you serious?" Phoebe shrilled. "You and Mom are talking? Oh my God, oh my God!" She started dancing around, making Martin feel nauseous as she shook the screen.

"Phoebe, calm down," Martin said, and his sister immediately focused back on her phone.

"What about Leena, Marty?" she asked. Martin shook his head, and Phoebe's face fell.

"Keep working on it," she said forcefully. "I love you."

Phoebe paused to raise her voice.

"I love you, Mom!"

"I love you too, baby," Myka called, her face still etched with worry. Martin waved at his sister and ended the call. He leaned forward in his seat, sliding his hand over Jazz's shoulder as he eyed off his mother. Myka looked back at him guiltily.

"You went days without talking to Phoebe?" Martin asked incredulously.

"I don't know what to tell her," Myka murmured. "I don't want to lie to her, but she can't know about the Warehouse."

"You completely freaked her out," Martin said. "You can't just suddenly go offline on her like that." He paused to swallow hard. "Trust me, I know how that feels. And it's not fun."

Myka hung her head. Jazz ran a reassuring hand over Martin's as they pulled up at a red light. Martin stared at his mother until she looked up and met his eyes.

"Why am I completely incompetent at this parenting thing?" she asked. Marty shook his head and chuckled.

"I hope you're better at artifact retrieval," Jazz quipped with a grin, and Myka laughed.

"I'll call Phoebe tonight," Myka promised Martin, and he nodded his acceptance. Myka held out her hand.

"Can I see the file on this case?" she asked. "I'll be a lot better at snagging this artifact if I knew what we were looking for."

Martin retrieved the file from the seat beside him and handed it over.

"A family in Wilmington reported flickering lights and floating objects in their house," Jazz reported as Myka opened the file. Myka squinted.

"So maybe an invisibility artifact?" she guessed. Jazz pulled a face and shrugged.

"No missing persons reports though," she said. "But still a possibility."

As Jazz and Myka began to bounce ideas off each other, Martin sank back into his seat and allowed himself to enjoy the happy feeling he got from watching his mother get increasingly more animated about the topic than he had seen her get about anything else in a very long time.

* * *

><p>Steve sank into a recliner in his family room and gave Claudia a quizzical look. Claudia looked back at him from the couch. Bailey was stretched across most of the couch, her head resting on her mother's lap as she read from a paperback.<p>

"So, I go away for two days, and suddenly Myka's all reconnected with her kids?" he asked.

"Kid," Claudia corrected, stroking absently at Bailey's hair. "Marty's all on board, but if anything, Leena's even angrier than she was before. The only person she's spoken to in the last 24 hours is Bailey. Even I'm in the bad books."

"I like it this way," Bailey piped up. "Today we made headbands. I'm going to make her some hair slides later."

Claudia placed her hand over Bailey's eyes until Bailey swatted at her with her book. Steve smiled softly at the women he loved so much.

"You do realise that if Leena doesn't get her emotions in check that we can't let her back in the Warehouse," he stated. "Negative energy had never sat well in a Warehouse situation."

"Maybe you can teach her some of your Buddhist mumbo jumbo," Claudia suggested blithely. Steve gave her a look.

"Mumbo jumbo?" he asked. Claudia grinned back at him innocently. Steve rested back in the recliner and closed his eyes tiredly, letting out a loud sigh.

"I hid Myka and Pete's wedding video in with that box of USB sticks when I gave it to Marty," Claudia admitted. Steve opened one eye and gave her a sidelong glance.

"Hey, even I couldn't have predicted that it'd have the effect that it did," Claudia said defensively.

"I thought we agreed not to meddle," Steve mumbled.

"Sometimes I feel like you don't know me at all," Claudia commented with a grin. Steve grunted and rubbed at his face. Claudia bounced her leg up and down until Bailey sat up and gave her a dirty look.

"I think you should put your dad to bed," Claudia said, nodding over at Steve, whose head was lolling to the side again. "I hear he likes a good bedtime story."

Bailey leaned over and kissed her mother on the cheek before bouncing off the couch and shuffling across the room to pull on her father's arm.

"Come on, Poopypants," she commented. Steve let out a moan as he allowed Bailey to pull him to his feet.

"Bay, sweetie, we talked about this," he said. "No Poopypants."

"Mom calls you Poopypants," Bailey stated. Steve sighed tiredly.

"Mom calls me a lot of things I'd rather she didn't," he muttered, looking over at Claudia, who was watching the scene with a bemused expression. Bailey glanced at her, and Claudia winked, causing her daughter to grin.

"Good night, Poopypants," Claudia quipped. Steve shook his head and rolled his eyes as he let Bailey lead him out of the room. Claudia smiled to herself, then picked up Bailey's discarded book and started to read. She'd only gotten a page or two in when she wrinkled her nose in confusion.

"Bailey, my child, what are you reading?" she muttered to herself, flipping the book closed so that she could take in the cover. "Lost Socialites of New York? Damn kid, you really will read anything."

She dropped the book back on the couch as she got to her feet and left the room, leaving the book open at page featuring a photo of a pretty young girl with chestnut hair and sad eyes blowing a kiss at the camera.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Happy readers = happy writer. Oh, there's like one curse word in here... pre-warning.**

* * *

><p>A captive audience surrounded Myka a couple of days later as she sat on the couch in the Warehouse office. Chester, Jensen, Jazz, and Martin sat around her as Myka used a tablet to scan through the catalogue of stored artifacts, recounting tales of retrieval as she found stories worth retelling. Claudia worked on a computer a few feet away, glancing up occasionally with a satisfied smirk on her face. Bailey sat on the office floor, leaning against the computer desk, bedazzling what Claudia could only assume was another gift for Leena. They'd be cleaning glitter out of the Warehouse for a week the way Bailey was going.<p>

"Anthony Bishop's manuscript was kind of fun," Myka said was a rueful smile. "We were stuck in a black and white murder mystery. I might have enjoyed it a little more that I should have." She swiped to the right and her eyes widened.

"Oh, Godfrid's spoon!" she exclaimed. "This one almost caused Claudia to combust."

Bailey's head shot up in horror and she whipped around to face her mother.

"Mom!" she cried. Claudia shot Myka a dirty look, and Myka winced.

"Sorry," she mouthed. Claudia looked down at Bailey.

"Clearly, I did not combust," she told her daughter. Bailey still didn't look impressed. Claudia reached down and ruffled her hair. Myka bit her lip and quickly swiped past a batch of artifacts related to the Sykes era.

"Can I show you one of ours?" Chester asked, holding out a hand tentatively. Myka smiled shyly and handed over the tablet. She looked over at Martin and Jazz as Jensen and Chester started bickering about what artifact to talk about. Jazz was curled up next to Martin, and she was toying absently with Martin's hair as she tried to interrupt Jester's argument. Martin looked comfortable, though Myka could still sense the unease he must have been feeling at Leena's silent treatment. Chester finally managed to wrestle the tablet away from Jensen's grasp.

"Right, this one," he said, smiling at Myka. "This was when we went to –"

"Fine!"

Leena's petulant shout echoed throughout the office as she angrily stomped down the spiral staircase from the alcove. She was clearly seething. She shot the group seated at the couch area a withering glare and let out a frustrated growl before storming out of the office. Steve tripped down the stairs a few moments later, a grim look on his face.

"Uncle Steve, what's going on?" Martin asked. He looked upset, and like he really wanted to chase after his sister. Jazz massaged his shoulder gently.

"Negative energy?" Myka asked cautiously, putting a hand on Martin's other shoulder. Steve nodded.

"Things down on the floor have been restless for days," he confirmed. "I told Leena that she either had to calm down or spend some time away from the Warehouse."

"Clearly option one didn't appeal to her," Jensen quipped. Jazz shot him a dirty look.

"You knew about the emotional effect on the Warehouse?" Martin asked his mother. Myka nodded.

"Pete and I used to fight all the time," she murmured, tears involuntarily forming in her eyes. "He was just so annoying. Artie gooed us... a lot."

"Yeah he did," Claudia snickered from her desk chair perch. Myka wrinkled her nose at the redhead.

"So where's Leena going to go?" Martin asked.

"Back upstairs, to the intern program," Steve said. "Once she works off that head of steam again, I guess."

"Do you want me to report for duty again?" Jazz asked.

"Might be a good idea," Steve replied. Jazz pursed her lips as she nodded her consent.

"Wait, you and Dad used to fight?" Martin asked, wrinkling his brow at Myka. Myka looked uneasy.

"More like, bickered," she admitted. "I mean, you remember, Marty. Your dad was like a little kid sometimes, he always had to touch things, and play with them, and I spent half of my time on the Warehouse floor trying to make sure he wasn't breaking anything..." She trailed off at Martin's smirk.

"What?"

"Sounds a lot like Phoebe," Martin grinned. Myka cocked her head in shocked recognition.

"Yeah," she murmured. "I guess you could say that." The concept appeared to take her by surprise. She sank back into the couch, and Martin placed a hand gently on her knee. Jazz held out her hand for the tablet Chester still held.

"My turn," she said.

"But I didn't get to finish!" Chester protested. Jazz made a dive for the tablet, and Jensen let out a shout. Claudia looked up at Steve.

"Your children need supervision," she quipped. Steve gave her an incredulous look.

"My children?"

"My child," Claudia reached down to put a hand on Bailey's head, "is silent. Sparkly, but silent. Yours," she indicated the group of agents who were now all squabbling over the tablet, "are not. Lead them."

"You're bossy sometimes," Steve told her. Claudia grinned and nodded, and Steve rolled his eyes before wading into the agent melee.

* * *

><p>The Warehouse had stayed relatively peaceful for the rest of the afternoon, so Jensen had given himself an early mark and headed back to his apartment. He'd showered and then downed a few beers while playing video games, and was about to settle down to watch a movie when there was a knock on his front door. Shrugging a shirt on, he grabbed the beer he was still drinking and headed to answer the knock. What he saw when he opened the door almost made him drop the bottle in his hand. Leena leaned against the door frame, wearing the most revealing clothes he'd ever seen her in. Tight jeans finished inches from a cropped tan-coloured tank top, which revealed both an expanse of flat stomach and ample amount of cleavage. Jensen could see the ring that hung on the chain around Leena's neck, something that was normally hidden beneath her shirt collars.<p>

"Hey," Leena murmured flirtatiously. Jensen drew back his head slightly and raised an eyebrow.

"Hey?" he offered. Leena gave him her irresistible Lattimer smile.

"Can I come in?"

Jensen pulled the door open further, and Leena took that as enough invitation to walk into the apartment. Jensen took a deep swig from his beer and quickly closed the door behind her. Leena sauntered into the apartment, the heels of her boots clicking on the timber floors. She cast a playful glance at Jensen over her shoulder.

"Nice place," she commented coyly. Jensen followed her into his living area.

"You ok, Scamp?" he asked. Leena settled herself onto the couch.

"Please don't call me Scamp," she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she crossed her legs. "It's Leena."

Jensen waved towards his kitchenette.

"Can I get you a drink, Leena?"

Leena waved a hand dismissively.

"No, I'm fine," she said, curling her lips into a smile. She looked pointedly at the empty space next to her on the couch. "Why don't you just sit with me?"

Jensen was trying to avoid staring at Leena. He sank down on the couch beside her and looked down at his feet. Leena reached over and poked him on the shoulder.

"What's up, Jensen? You never see a girl before?"

Jensen looked over at her cautiously.

"What are you doing here, Leena?"

"I came to hang out, with my friend Jensen," Leena said with a giggle. "Though I've just realised I don't actually know your first name."

"Parker," Jensen told her, picking at the label on his beer bottle. "My name is Parker. My dad was a Spiderman fan."

Leena rested an arm on the back of the couch.

"Parker is cute," she said with a coy smile. Jensen gave her a hesitant smile back. Leena slid closer to him.

"Leena," Jensen said gruffly, swallowing hard. "Why are you here?"

"Don't you want me here?" Leena asked, pouting seductively. Jensen huffed out a choked laugh.

"Sweetheart, it's not that I don't want you here," he murmured. "I just know that you're not in a very happy place right now..."

Leena slid so close to Jensen that their legs were pressed together. She reached out and used a finger to turn his head towards her.

"You could make me happy," she whispered, leaning forward and pressing her lips to his. Jensen reacted instinctively, returning the kiss that was immediately hurried and feverish. Leena grasped onto the vibe and made to straddle Jensen's lap. Jensen suddenly broke away from the kiss, hurriedly pushing Leena away from him and springing up from the couch. He looked mortified at the situation. Leena wore a hurt expression as she stared up at Jensen.

"Did I do something wrong?" she whimpered. Jensen's face crinkled.

"Leena, this is not a good idea," he said gently. "You're only here because you're upset..."

"No, I'm not!" Leena protested, jumping to her feet and walking towards Jensen. He held up a hand.

"Sweetheart, I can't do this with you," he told her softly. "I'd lose my job. Claudia would go ballistic. I can't even imagine what your mom would do."

Leena's face darkened.

"My mom?" she spat. "My mom would have to care in order for her to do something." She reached out and grabbed Jensen's outstretched hand, placing it on her chest.

"Don't you want me?" she whispered, looking up at him with pleading eyes. Jensen exhaled deeply and removed his hand.

"I can't," he told her. Leena's expression soured.

"Fuck you," she hissed. "You're a disgusting old pervert anyway." She roughly pushed past him and stalked out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her. Jensen ran a shaky hand through his hair.

"I need a stronger drink," he murmured to himself, making for his liquor cabinet at a rapid pace.

* * *

><p>Martin followed Jazz down one of the aisles on the Warehouse floor, not making much of an effort to disguise the fact that he was clearly enjoying the view of her back side.<p>

"Are we supposed to be here this late?" he asked. The rest of the group had left hours ago, after Nola had called Claudia to inform her that she was preparing Mexican food for dinner. Jazz had announced that she and Martin were going to have their own dinner date, but so far they had yet to leave the Warehouse. Jazz turned around to smile at Martin.

"The Warehouse is open all hours," she said. "Pings never really did get the memo that we prefer our action during business hours. We're perfectly fine."

"So why are we here?" Martin asked her. Jazz wandered leisurely back to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Because this is my happy place," she said with a smile. "And you are my happy person." She stood on her tiptoes and placed a soft kiss on Martin's lips. When she broke away, Martin raised a hand and brushed some wayward strands of hair off her forehead.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered. Jazz blushed as she smirked.

"I wanted to say thank you," Martin said to Jazz, placing his hands on her waist. Jazz cocked her head.

"For what?"

"For stepping up to keep an eye on my sister," Martin told her. "Leena's vulnerable right now, and with the way she feels about me and my mom right now... it's nice to know there will be someone watching out of her."

"Leena has no idea how lucky she is to have you," Jazz murmured. "The way you look out for your family; it's really, really," she paused to bite her lip, "hot."

"Hot?" Martin chuckled, a noise that was swiftly cut off by Jazz's lips meeting his. The kisses started soft and slow, but grew increasingly passionate. Martin gripped Jazz's hips as she tensed and hitched herself up, wrapping her legs around his waist. He pivoted so that he could pin her against a stack post, sliding his hands over the expanse of bare skin on Jazz's back that the position exposed. Jazz moaned against Martin's mouth, but their heads suddenly snapped apart at the sound of a crash. When Marty looked up, his eyes met Leena's. She stood at the end of the aisle, hands on an artifact-filled shopping cart that she had clearly rammed into the stacks upon her discovery of Jazz and Martin. Leena's expression was unreadable. Jazz quickly disentangled herself from Martin and cleared her throat. Martin took a step toward his sister.

"Leena," he said gently.

"Oh no, don't stop on account of me," Leena said snidely. "It's a big Warehouse, I can go elsewhere." She didn't wait for a response before swinging her trolley around and hurrying away. Martin chewed on his lip as he turned back to Jazz, who was tidying her dishevelled ponytail.

"Think she's mad?" Jazz asked sheepishly. Martin scratched at his head as he wrapped his other arm around Jazz's shoulders, planting a kiss on her temple.

"I can barely remember a time when Leena wasn't mad," he commented with a sigh. "Her timing, however, is impeccable as always."

Jazz wrapped her arms around him, and together they stood, holding each other in a calming silence neither wanted to break. Both of them were too caught up in their own thoughts to notice that there was a dull orange glow coming from one of the artifact compartments that hadn't been there before.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: You guys! I have been feeling so much love. Thank you so much xoxo**

* * *

><p>Leena huffed and grumbled and seethed and she pushed her cart back towards the office. She'd come back to the Warehouse after leaving Jensen's, hoping that a walk around the floor would help clear the mortification she felt at Jensen's rejection. When she'd arrived and stomped grumpily down the stairs, she'd found the cart full of artifacts that she'd been intending to reshelve that morning before Steve had given her the hard word about her attitude and she'd fled from the Warehouse. Leena had looked the cart over and rolled her eyes before taking hold of it and shoving it down the first aisle. She barely paid attention to where she was going, stalking down random aisles while all the anger and frustration she felt built up a wall of static in her head. Her eyes had been watching the floor when she'd swung the cart down Astoria-96, but the sound of a giggle and a moan caused her head to snap up, and the sight of her brother locked in a full on make-out session with Jazz made her lose control of the cart. The whole stack had shaken with the impact.<p>

"I'll always look out for you, Leena," Leena muttered sarcastically under her breath as she yanked the cart back towards the office. "I'll never stop worrying about you, Leena. Yeah, well, you look real concerned right now, Marty." Leena hated how much hurt she felt that her brother would rather get frisky with his girlfriend in the Warehouse stacks than reach out to his own sister. She slammed the cart into the stairwell that led back up to the office and was about to turn and walk away when something shiny caught her eye. Reaching into the cart, Leena extracted a hair slide that was a couple of inches long, a cluster of crystals that sparkled under the lights. Leena felt the corners of her mouth tug up involuntarily.

"Bailey," she whispered, fingering the hair clip. After they'd spent the day together being girly, Bailey had promised Leena a whole range of glittery gifts. Leena used the clip to pin back the left side of her hair, shuddering slightly as she felt a sudden chill. She frowned in confusion as she glanced around her.

"Weird," she murmured, grabbing hold of the banister and hurrying out of the Warehouse.

* * *

><p>When Jensen and Chester arrived in the office the next morning, they walked into panicked chaos. Claudia, Myka and Martin were talking heatedly with each other, while Jazz tapped away at a computer keyboard while also systematically checking her cell phone. Steve whirled around to face Jensen and Chester, his face anxious.<p>

"Guys, is she with you?" he asked hastily. The pair looked confused.

"Is who with us?" Chester inquired. Martin looked over at them, his face grim.

"Leena didn't come home last night," he said stiffly. "She's not answering her phone. We're searching everywhere, calling everyone she knows, but we can't find her."

"None of the interns have heard from her," Jazz reported, throwing her phone back on the desk in frustration. "Her Smithsonian ID hasn't been used in days either."

Martin put his hands to his head and started to pace.

"Why is my sister so stubborn?" he muttered. "If she'd just answer her phone..."

"I tried using Bailey's phone to call Leena, but even that just went to voicemail," Claudia said. Myka was chewing on a thumbnail.

"This is all my fault," she murmured. "If I'd have just left..."

"Myka," Claudia soothed, rubbing Myka's shoulder.

"Ok, who was the last one to see her?" Steve asked, looking around the room. Jensen went to open his mouth, but Jazz piped up.

"Marty and I saw her about 9 o'clock last night," she offered, looking around to see if anyone could offer a later time. When no one argued, she continued.

"We were just taking a tour of some of my Warehouse favourites," Jazz said. "Marty and I were, um, talking, when Leena came into our aisle. I guess she wasn't expecting us... she ran into the shelves with one of the carts."

"You were, um, talking?" Steve asked, folding his arms over his chest as he raised an eyebrow. Jazz smiled sheepishly while Martin turned a shade of crimson.

"Consummate professional, huh Jazz?" Claudia quipped. "Do we need to hose the aisle down?"

"We were just kissing!" Jazz cried defensively. Claudia gave her the stink eye. Myka was trying not to smirk at her son's very embarrassed face.

"I guess Leena didn't take very well to seeing me not paying attention to her," Martin muttered. "She took off in a hurry, and that was the last we saw or heard of her."

Chester had settled himself into a desk chair, and was typing hurriedly. Jensen looked over at his partner.

"Dude, what's wrong?" he asked, taking in Chester's concerned expression. Chester looked over at Jazz.

"What aisle were you in last night?" he asked.

"Astoria-96," Jazz said cautiously. "Why?"

Chester turned his attention to Steve.

"There's an artifact disturbance in Astoria-96."

Steve dove for the desk, following Chester's finger as he pointed at the screen.

"Damn," he hissed. "How did we miss that?"

Claudia was already headed for the Warehouse floor, Myka and Martin hot on her heels. The rest of the group scrambled to keep up. They were all somberly quiet as they hurried towards Astoria-96. Claudia slid to a stop in front of the empty artifact compartment. She looked over at Jazz and Martin.

"Was this like this when you saw it last?" she asked, indicating the dull orange light that lit the compartment. The pair looked pained.

"I'm not sure," Jazz stammered uncertainly. "We were distracted."

"Claud, what artifact is gone?" Myka asked, chewing on her thumbnail again. Claudia tapped on the display screen. Her brow furrowed.

"Alexa Van Alen's hair slide," she murmured. "Why is that so familiar?"

"Who's Alexa Van Alen?" Martin asked. Jensen's face suddenly lit up.

"Oh, I know this one!" he cried. All attention snapped towards him.

"About 15 years ago, Alexa Van Alen was one of the hottest girls in New York," Jensen said. "She was a big part of that Manhattan heiress 'It Girl' movement, you know, hot girls, out every night, spending daddy's cash."

"Dude, why do you know this?" Chester asked, eyebrows raised.

"Did you miss the part where I said hot girls?" Jensen shot back. "I was 20, and photographs of these girls were all over the internet."

"Jensen, what happened to Alexa Van Alen?" Myka asked cautiously. Jensen screwed up his face as he thought.

"I seem to remember something about her, um, flinging herself off a building and killing herself," he blurted out. Myka's eyes grew wide, and she made a grab for Steve's arm.

"Bailey!" Claudia suddenly exclaimed, digging into her pocket for her phone.

"Aunt Claudia?" Martin asked in confusion. Claudia held up a silencing finger as she dialled her daughter's number. Bailey answered almost immediately.

"Mom?" she answered questioningly.

"Kiddo, I haven't really got time to explain, but have you still got that book on the New York socialites with you?" Claudia asked. She held her phone out in front of her so that Myka could peer over her shoulder at the screen.

"Yeah, I do," Bailey said, her face disappearing for a moment as she obviously rummaged around in her bag. She reappeared, holding the book up for her mother to see.

"Bay, can you find the section on Alexa Van Alen?" Claudia asked. Bailey flicked the book open, pushing past pages until she found what she was looking for.

"Alexa Van Alen was the only daughter of an investment banker," Bailey read. "An old money family. Her parents divorced when she was ten after her father ran off with his secretary. Her mother remarried and her new husband didn't like kids so Alexa was left alone a lot of the time. She started acting out, shoplifting, skipping school, but her parents didn't seem to notice." Bailey looked up from the book.

"Mom, is this what you want?"

"Yeah, Bay, keep going," Claudia said encouragingly. Bailey screwed up her face.

"The book says that Alexa Van Alen turned into a full time party girl in her late teens. She spent every night in the clubs, drinking and taking whatever was offered to her. She was photographed with a rotating group of high society profiles, and lots of different men. People thought she was just doing what every other girl in her position did. On her 21st birthday, Alexa took a pill cocktail, drank a bottle of champagne, climbed to the rooftop of a party house in Brooklyn, and jumped. The author of the book says that all of her partying and wild girl ways were just a cover up for a girl haunted by a longing for attention from her parents. Alexa Van Alen felt abandoned, betrayed, humiliated, and alone, and one day, it was all too much."

"Bailey, I really don't want you reading that book anymore," Claudia told her. "Can you do me a favour, hold up the page with the photo of Alexa Van Alen."

Bailey flicked a page over and cast her mother a worried look before holding the book up to the screen.

"Bingo," Claudia said. At this point the whole group was crowded around Claudia's shoulders. No one followed her outburst.

"Look," Claudia pointed at the clip pinned into the socialite's hair. "Does that remind you of anything?"

"Should it?" Martin asked. Claudia rolled her eyes.

"Steve, Jensen, Chester, hold out your hands," she instructed. The three men did as asked, and Steve's eyes suddenly lit up in recognition.

"Bailey," he announced.

"What, what'd I do?" Bailey squawked from the other end of the line. Steve held his hands up to the light, where silver glitter clearly reflected on his palms.

"Bailey's been making Leena gifts," he said. "Hair slides, to be precise."

"Bay, chicken, you've been totally awesome," Claudia told her daughter. "Thank you. We gotta go."

"Mom, is everything ok?" Bailey frowned. Claudia let out a soft sigh.

"I'll catch you up later," she said, finger hovering over the 'end call' button. "Oh, and Bailey-Bear?"

"Yep?" Bailey answered.

"I love you, kid," Claudia told her gently. Bailey smiled hesitantly.

"Love you too," she murmured, ending the call. Claudia pocketed her phone and turned to face the rest of the group.

"Please tell me at least some of you are on the same page as me right now," she said.

"This is where Leena ran her cart into the stacks," Steve said, pointing to a scratched mark on the shelf.

"She did hit it pretty hard," Jazz confirmed. "Hard enough that the shelves shook."

"A hair slide wouldn't have made much noise if it fell," Myka said, hugging herself tightly. "She probably didn't even notice."

"Bailey's been leaving gifts everywhere for Leena to find," Claudia finished. "I deduce that Leena would never have even thought to think a sparkly hair clip was an artifact."

"Leena's been whammied," Myka gasped out, her face a mask of horror. Martin gripped at the hand Jazz offered. Around the group, facial expressions ranged from grim to total despair.

"Nobody panic," Steve said gently. "We don't even know what the Van Alen hair slide does to a person."

"The girl partied herself to death," Martin spat out. "For some reason I don't think the side effect is puppies and rainbows."

Chester had turned and drawn up the artifact manifest on the display screen.

"Uh, guys," he drawled out cautiously. All eyes turned to him.

"Alexa Van Alen wasn't the only one who died wearing the hair slide," Chester reported. "It was left to Van Alen's childhood friend, Sophia Stanley. She was an honour student at Columbia, apparently never drank or partied, but after she received the hair slide, she went on a three day bender that ended when she jumped off the roof of the campus chapel." Chester looked grim. "That's when the Warehouse snagged the artifact."

"Oh no," Jazz whispered.

"The artifact causes the wearer to live out the last days of Alexa Van Alen's life," Steve muttered. Myka looked like she was trying not to hyperventilate. Even Jensen looked ill.

"There's more," Chester looked pained. "It says that the slide actually only effects someone who feels similar emotions to what Van Alen did. So abandoned, betrayed, hurt, rejected..."

"God, if I ever heard Leena described in a sentence," Claudia murmured.

"Aunt Claudia, Leena's never had a drop of alcohol in her life!" Martin stated, his voice cracking in distress. "If she starts drinking..."

"This is all my fault," Myka cut in unhappily, staring at the Warehouse floor. "I'm the reason she feels abandoned. I did this to her."

"Pretty sure we're all to blame, in Leena's head at least," Claudia said, then looked up at Chester and Jensen. "Well, maybe not you two."

Jensen proved exceptionally bad at hiding his discomfort.

"Jensen, you're not even saying anything and I can see the lie," Steve said slowly. Jensen squirmed as all attention was focused on him.

"I really hoped I would never have to say this," he groaned. "Leena turned up at my house last night. She tried to come on to me."

"Jensen," Steve was using the agent's name as a warning.

"Ok, ok!" Jensen cried. "Leena kissed me. I told her I wasn't interested." He jumped backward with a shout as Martin suddenly lunged for him.

"I will end you!" Martin roared, his launch attack only stopped by Steve grabbing the back of his shirt. Martin fought against the restraint as he continued his tirade at Jensen.

"If you so much as looked at her the wrong way, I swear to God, I'll kill you!" Martin shouted.

"Hey, I told you, she kissed me!" Jensen said defensively, trying unsuccessfully to use Chester as a human shield.

"Jensen, your sordid reputation precedes you," Jazz said darkly.

"I only kissed her back for like a second!" Jensen admitted, and Martin lunged again.

"I told her it wasn't going to happen!" Jensen cried, catching Myka's eye. Myka looked like she might join Martin in his attack.

"Myka, I told Leena that you would kill me if I touched her," he said pleadingly. "That's when she got pissed and stormed off, after she called me a dirty old perv."

"She got one thing right," Martin muttered darkly, wrestling himself out of Steve's grip.

"People, can we just focus here!" Claudia demanded. "We need to find where Leena is, and get that hair slide back."

"Right, we need to get back to the office," Steve confirmed, putting an arm Martin's shoulders and leading him away. Jazz trailed after them, and Chester shook his head at his partner as he left the aisle. Jensen took a step forward and then froze as Myka stepped into his path.

"You got one thing right too," she said evenly. "I will kill you." She stared Jensen down for a moment before turning and following the group back towards the office. Jensen swallowed hard and shot Claudia a pleading look. She gave him a harsh stare.

"Look, buddy," she said. "I know as well as you that Leena is not quite the innocent little princess her brother would like to think she is, but if I find out that you put a hand on her for more than one second more than you should have, I will put your balls in a vice, do you understand me? And don't think I'm kidding about the vice. There's one in Gemini-82."

Jensen nodded slowly.

"Got it," he squeaked out.

"Good," Claudia said. "Now come. We have a missing Lattimer to locate."

Jensen watched his boss stride off, and then glanced down at his crotch for a moment before squeaking again and scurrying to catch up.

* * *

><p>Steve had already discovered that his credit card was missing by the time Claudia and Jensen made it back to the office.<p>

"Why was your credit card even in the Warehouse office?" Myka asked him.

"Because Bailey developed an online shopping addiction last year," Claudia said with an eye roll. "So we hid it."

"Evidently not well enough," Steve muttered, rubbing at his head. Jazz was back at her computer.

"You know as well as I do that credit cards are super easy to track," she said over her shoulder. "We should be able to find where she used it last."

"She doesn't even need a physical card," Martin murmured. "All she needs is the number and a signature." He glanced sheepishly at Myka. "And both of us nailed yours years ago."

Myka gave him a shocked look.

"You didn't exactly make it hard for me!" Martin said defensively. "M Lattimer? Besides, how do you think we managed to participate in all those school activities when you never signed for anything?"

Myka huffed out a breath and then pursed her lips.

"Your college funds are linked to that card," she murmured unhappily.

"So, now we've established that Leena's on the loose with easy access to cash," Claudia summed up, watching as Jensen slinked to the far corner of the office and silently pulled out his phone. Jazz thumped her fist on the desk.

"Steve's card was used to withdraw a huge chunk of change at the ATM near the bus station early this morning," she announced, and then drew up a second window on her screen as the group crowded around behind her. "And here is our girl buying a bus ticket soon after."

"Can you see where she's heading?" Martin asked. Jazz swiped through a reel of security camera footage.

"There!" Steve pointed at a screen shot. Jazz slowed the reel and zoomed in on Leena stepping onto a bus. Martin exhaled loudly at Leena's dishevelled appearance. Claudia was scanning the screen with her eyes.

"Port Authority," she stated. "Of course."

"Leena's gone to New York," Jazz confirmed.

"There's a flight to New York in an hour," Chester called from his desk. "There's enough seats for all of you."

"Book them," Claudia instructed. Steve and Jazz sprung to action, collecting files and supplies. Steve thrust a bag at Myka.

"You've done this before," he said with a soft smile. "You know what to grab."

Jazz pulled Martin down onto a chair and started instructing him about the files she was downloading, stroking his hand softly as she spoke. Claudia pointed at Jensen and Chester.

"I want you both on call 24/7 until we get back," she said sternly. "And I'm calling Bailey on the way to the airport and telling her she's in charge."

Chester chuckled for a moment and then stopped when he saw Claudia's face.

"You're not kidding."

"I trust my daughter more than I trust him right now," Claudia said, glaring at Jensen. "But I am kind of kidding. Obviously Bay can't be in charge. She can't drive."

Chester was choking on a reply when Steve stepped up to Claudia's side, holding a few small duffel bags.

"We're ready to go," he told her. Claudia glanced over her shoulder, where Myka, Martin and Jazz stood clustered together. She nodded and headed for the door, with the group quickly following her. Steve lingered for a moment, staring Jensen in particular down.

"I don't care what Claud says, Bailey's definitely in charge," he stated before he left the office. Once they were alone, Chester balled up a piece of paper and threw it at his partner.

"Do you remember the last time Bailey was in charge?" he asked. "She nearly blew up the Dark Vault. We were cleaning neutraliser off the ceiling for a week."

"Yes, Chester, I get it, I'm an idiot," Jensen grunted. "Can we maybe focus less on me and more on Leena?"

"You being focused on Leena is what got us in this mess in the first place," Chester quipped. Jensen shot him a dirty look and strode out of the office towards the research archives.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: We're getting close to the end my friends. And it's going to be as hard for me as it is for you.**

* * *

><p>Martin reached out and gently drew his mother's hand away from her mouth. Myka had chewed her thumbnails down to the quick, and Martin was concerned that she was going to draw blood. Their plane had just completed take off, and they would land in New York within the hour. Their last minute booking meant that the group hadn't been able to secure seats all together. Jazz sat with Claudia and Steve towards the front of the aircraft, while Martin and Myka were seated in the back row. Myka looked at Martin with watery eyes.<p>

"Do you understand now why I didn't want you and your sister to find out about the Warehouse?" she asked softly.

"Mom, from what I've seen, normal people stumble over artifacts every day," Martin countered. "We need to worry less about blame right now, and more about finding and helping Leena."

Myka sighed and wiped at her eyes.

"I don't even know how to talk to your sister," she murmured. "She's just so angry."

"She never cried, you know," Martin told Myka. Myka gave him a disbelieving look.

"Never?" she asked. "You were only kids. How did she not cry?"

"No idea," Martin said with a shrug. "Leena just seemed to skip mourning and went straight to anger. She said that you were doing enough crying for all of us."

"All that rage bottled up for so long..." Myka murmured. "She's like a ticking time bomb."

"Not one thing anyone has said in the last couple of hours has made me feel any better," Martin commented, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "I've just got this constant gnawing feeling in my gut."

"Like a vibe?" Myka asked. Martin shrugged again.

"I feel like this when Leena's particularly pissed off at the world," he said. "I just put it down to that psychic bond people say twins have."

"Your dad," Myka's voice cracked, "he used to get vibes about people. Most of the time he was pretty spot on. So if you feel like something isn't right, don't be afraid to speak up, ok?"

Martin was fiddling absently with the watch strap around his wrist. Myka reached out and placed her hand over his, and tried not to cry at the sad look in Martin's eyes.

"We've got Claudia and Steve and the whole Warehouse on our side," Myka told her son. "If anyone can get your sister back, it's them."

"I let her down," Martin murmured.

"I know how you feel," Myka countered sadly. She leaned up to kiss away the solitary tear that slid down Martin's cheek, then settled her head against his shoulder. Martin rested his cheek on his mother's head, and together they stared out of the window, both lost in similar thought.

* * *

><p>Leena officially loved New York City. She also officially loved champagne, especially when it was free. Her current buzz however came from more than the bubbles. The first thing she'd done when she'd stepped off the bus at Port Authority was locate a Duane Reade. The depressed-looking young man behind the pharmaceutical counter had only required a flash of cleavage and a wrinkled hundred dollar bill to hand over a variety of prescription drugs. Leena had popped a couple of uppers before heading to a beauty salon where she flashed the credit card she'd lifted from the hidden drawer in the Warehouse office the night before. The first glass of champagne appeared while she was having her hair blown out, the second during her manipedi. By the time she'd had her makeup professionally applied, Leena's head was spinning from the combination of pills and alcohol. She flagged a cab and demanded to be taken to Bloomingdale's. The sales assistants had taken in her distressed Levis and sneered until the Amex made yet another appearance and their attitudes suddenly did a one-eighty. More champagne appeared as Leena tried on one designer dress after another, spinning delightedly in front of the changing room mirrors as the sales assistants fawned over her. It was mid afternoon by the time she tripped out of the department store, laden with bags and boxes. The salesgirl had ordered Leena a town car, which Leena used to make one further detour before reaching her final destination at a boutique hotel on the Upper East Side. Leaving the porter to deal with her shopping purchases, Leena strode purposefully into the hotel foyer and up to the check in desk. She pulled a wad of cash out of her pocket and smiled seductively.

"There's plenty more where this came from," she purred at the surprised desk attendant. "I need a suite for a few nights."

Stuttering slightly, the young man slid a tablet and a stylus across the desk and asked for her details.

"You can pay cash for the room, but we need a credit card number for security," he stammered. Leena penned in her mother's card details with a flourish.

"I want you to ask for the cash first," she stated. The desk attendant nodded as he took back the tablet.

"Of course, Miss Radley," he said, reading off the tablet. He snapped his fingers for the porter as he slid a card key across the counter into Leena's waiting hand.

"Give Miss Radley anything she wants," the desk attendant told the porter.

"Champagne!" Leena sang as she headed to the elevator with the porter in tow. "And lots of it! Thank you!"

* * *

><p>"There, there, and there," Jazz said over Claudia's shoulder. The group had checked into a Midtown hotel upon arrival in New York, more for the privacy needed to run computer searches than it was based on the thought that they would need a base for more than a day. Claudia had hacked into the CCTV network that ran throughout Manhattan and started running a facial recognition program to try and locate Leena.<p>

"Port Authority, this morning," Claudia recited. "The Duane Reade on 56th Street not long after, then Bloomingdale's around midday."

"Either she figured out the cameras or just got lucky after that," Jazz commented. "There's no other clear shots."

Martin and Myka were pacing back and forth across the suite, both looking more and more anxious by the minute. Claudia's computer suddenly beeped.

"No," she breathed. "It can't be that easy."

"What is it?" Martin asked. Claudia glanced up.

"Myka Lattimer just checked in at the Waldorf Astoria," she said. Myka was already diving for the door.

"What are we waiting for?" she asked shrilly. "Let's go."

"Am I just being cynical?" Claudia asked, turning to Steve. "I feel like this is too easy."

"Leena's under the effect of an artifact," Steve shrugged. "There's no telling how aware of what's she's doing she is."

Claudia nodded as she closed her computer.

"Right then, let's go."

* * *

><p>The mood was sombre when the group returned to their room a few hours later.<p>

"Apparently that's how aware she is," Claudia muttered, slinging her satchel onto the bed.

"I should have known she'd never use my name as an alias," Myka said. "She hates me too much for that."

Martin pulled his mother into a hug.

"It's not like we didn't know Leena was smart," he murmured. Myka let out a haggard sigh. Jazz flopped down into a chair and powered up her computer as Steve stood behind Claudia and rubbed her shoulders. Claudia leaned back against his chest dejectedly.

"Guys, it's getting late," Steve commented.

"You're not honestly suggesting that we take a break for the night?" Martin asked incredulously. "Leena's still out there. This artifact is time-related!"

"Manhattan is a huge city," Steve said. "And that hotel check-in was our only lead. We need time to regroup. I'm not suggesting we just bunk down and sleep, just that we stay here and research rather than start walking the streets."

"Marty, you know your sister better than anyone," Claudia said gently. "If there's anything you can think of that might help us find her..."

Martin sank down to the floor next to the chair where Jazz sat. Jazz slid her hand over his shoulder in a comforting manner. Martin took hold of her hand and leaned back against the wall.

"I don't know my sister like this," he murmured. He watched as Myka sat on the edge of the bed. She looked as wrecked as Martin felt. The group slipped into an uneasy silence as they all started combing different research avenues.

* * *

><p>Leena woke up with a start, and immediately regretted the sudden movement as her head protested painfully. She'd never felt so disgusting in her life. Sitting up slowly, she took in the unfamiliar room around her. The night before was coming back to her in short flashes of loud music, laughter, dancing, pills, and champagne cocktails. Leena felt her stomach lurch at the memory of a sea of drug-tripping young men pawing at her. She glanced over at the nightstand and caught sight of a half full bottle of vodka and a pill bottle.<p>

"Hair of the dog," Leena murmured to herself, grabbing the vodka and taking a long swig. As she drank, she glanced to her left, and nearly spat out her mouthful when her eyes landed on the half naked brunette girl still asleep beside her. Leena hurriedly glanced down at herself and took stock of the fact that she was still wearing the tiny black dress she'd worn the night before. She reached over and poked at the girl's shoulder. The girl moaned and buried her face deeper into her pillow. Leena poked her again.

"Hey, wake up."

The girl moaned again as she lifted her head and pushed her tousled hair out of her eyes. Leena noted that beneath her smudged makeup, the girl was still quite attractive.

"Oh, hey," the girl slurred, giving Leena a wobbly smile.

"Who are you?" Leena asked. Sitting up, the girl reached over and took the vodka from Leena's hands. After taking a swig, she seemed to revive a little.

"I'm Courtney," she said with a grin. "We met last night, at Brink. Damn girl, you were on top of it last night."

"I'm sorry, on top of what?" Leena asked, patting at her own hair and making sure that Bailey's homemade hair slide was still there.

"On top of the list," Courtney said with a wicked smile. "I don't know where you came from, Leena, but you walked into that club like you owned it last night, and within minutes you were all anyone could look at."

"Huh," Leena chuffed out, taking the vodka bottle back. She grabbed a few pills off the nightstand and washed them down.

"Why are you in my room?" she asked. Courtney stretched and adjusted the strap on her bra. She smiled coyly.

"You wanted company," she explained. "But you passed out before we got to do anything fun." She reached out a hand to stroke Leena's shoulder.

"We could carry on now if you want," she purred. Leena gave a nervous laugh and climbed out of the bed, stumbling as the alcohol and drugs in her system messed with her balance.

"I think I'll pass for now," she told Courtney. Courtney pouted and climbed out of the bed, revealing a lithe body clad only in a tiny lace bra and thong set. She reached for a green dress that was draped haphazardly over a chair, and then grinned when she caught Leena staring.

"You'll be back at Brink tonight, right?" Courtney asked as she shimmied into her dress. "Everyone will be waiting for you." She padded around the bed and stood on tiptoes to kiss Leena gently and slowly on the lips.

"Especially me," she whispered seductively. Leena squeaked in reply. Courtney winked at her, collected her purse and shoes from the floor, and let herself out of the room. Leena stared dumbly at the closed door for a while, but sank back onto the bed when the room started to spin.

"I did not hate that kiss," she murmured to herself. "I like girls now?"

More flashes of the previous night came to Leena as she drained the rest of the vodka bottle, and slowly the surprise at liking being kissed by a girl ebbed away into feelings of disgust and despair. Leena had been throwing around money like it was printed for free, so of course it made sense that people were all over her. They couldn't possibly just like her. No one liked her. If people liked her they wouldn't ignore her, and abandon her, and betray her. Leena felt anger bubble up inside her again as she made her way to the bathroom and took in her haggard appearance in the mirror.

"Time to drink it all away again," she muttered to her reflection. She reached for the phone and dialled the front desk.

"Yeah, I'm going to need more champagne," she told the woman that answered. "Lots of it."

* * *

><p>Martin's morning started when he woke up on a hotel room floor. Someone had placed a pillow under his head, but his neck still seized up as he tried to move.<p>

"Hey sleepyhead," Jazz murmured, poking him with her toe from her perch in the chair above him. Martin grunted and rubbed at his eyes.

"How long have I been out?" he asked.

"Couple of hours," Jazz said. "But don't worry, so have the rest of the squad."

Martin massaged his neck as he followed Jazz's gaze to the bed. Myka was spooning with Claudia in the middle of the king-size, while Steve looked like he was one wrong move from rolling off the edge. Martin smiled despite himself and drew himself to his feet. Jazz stood up as well, and Martin kissed her forehead before sinking into the chair and drawing Jazz into his lap.

"Have you been awake all night?" he asked her softly. Jazz shrugged.

"I may have dozed a little," she admitted. "But I've been scanning the CCTV feeds for most of the night. Leena's obviously got them figured out. The facial recognition software can't find her anywhere."

"You don't think she's left New York, do you?" Martin asked. Jazz shook her head.

"It would go against the artifact pattern," she said, reaching for her computer. Her movement however changed when her cell phone started to ring shrilly. The noise woke the still sleeping Warehouse agents, and as Martin had predicted, Steve fell off the bed with a thud.

"Why hello, Mrs Lattimer," Claudia crooned. "I normally insist on people buying me dinner before I let them get so close."

Myka hummed sleepily and removed her arm from around Claudia's waist. She ran a hand through her sleep-tousled curls as Steve scrambled hurriedly to his feet and tried to regain some composure.

"How long have we been asleep?" he asked.

"Couple of hours, according to Jazz," Martin answered, pointing towards the girl in question, who was now having an animated phone conversation. Jazz ended her call as the rest of the group shook themselves awake.

"Jensen found something," she announced, then gave Martin a pointed look as his face soured. "Stop, Marty. He's actually helping." She leaned over and tapped a few keys on her computer, then turned the screen around so that the rest of the group could see. Myka let out a gasp and raised her hands to her mouth.

"Leena?" Martin whispered incredulously as he leaned forward. "Oh my God, what is she wearing?"

"Not much," Steve commented. "Though it is designer." He shot Claudia a look as she turned to stare at him.

"Hello, I am still gay."

Myka had picked up Claudia's computer and found the same website that Jazz had. The group gathered around the laptops and started scrolling through the posted images. Leena appeared in almost every photo posted on the social website. She wore heavy makeup, and a strappy black dress that was so short that Martin wasn't even sure it classified as street legal. In practically every frame Leena had a drink in her hand, including several images of her downing champagne directly from the bottle. Also in every frame was a collection of young men grasping at Leena's body, with Leena making no discernible attempt to stop them. Martin leaned back in his chair. He felt like someone was repeatedly punching him in the gut.

"She's still wearing the hair slide," Claudia commented, taking note of the glittering clip that caught the light in several photographs. She scrolled a little further and couldn't stop her eyes from widening.

"And she's kissing girls!" she announced with a disbelieving laugh. "Marty, does Leena swing that way?"

"Not as far as I'm aware," Martin murmured, pushing Jazz's computer away with a squeamish look on his face.

"She's a drunk party girl," Steve said, pulling the computer out of Claudia's hands. "They'll do anything to get attention. And let's not forget that's exactly what this artifact wants."

"These pictures were taken at a nightclub called Brink," Jazz said, looking up at the group. "We should start there."

"Maybe the manager will know the names of some of the other people in these photos," Steve said in agreement. As he and Jazz started packing up supplies, Claudia turned to Myka, who was still perched on the edge of the bed as she stared silently at the floor.

"You ok?" Claudia asked gently. Myka looked up at her with watery eyes.

"That is my little girl," she whispered sadly. "My little girl, Claud. Did you see her eyes in those photos? She looks so lost, so sad."

"We'll find her, Myka," Claudia promised, giving Myka's leg a squeeze. Myka let out a shaky breath and nodded as she got to her feet.

"Ok, let's get out of here," she said with a forced enthusiasm. Martin was already waiting at the door with Jazz and Steve. He held out a hand to his mother.

"Let's go find our girl," he said. At that moment he looked so much like Pete that Myka had to catch her breath. She took Martin's hand and squeezed it tightly as the group headed out.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm going to need support to get me through the last of this... someone please send cookies... and wine :-P<strong>


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I'm still in need of cookies...**

* * *

><p>The manager of Brink had a slimeball smile that matched the rest of his appearance. His eyes lit up when Claudia and Steve handed over a copy of Leena's senior class photo.<p>

"You bet I remember her," he said sleazily, running a hand through his slicked back hair as he chewed on a toothpick. "That beautiful piece of ass had every photographer in town here. My club is going to go off tonight."

Steve didn't even try to disguise the furious look that crossed his face. Claudia scowled as she balled up her fist at her side, thankful that she'd left Martin and Myka outside the club.

"Did you happen to get any information on her?" Claudia asked thinly, watching as Steve snatched the picture out of the nightclub manager's hand. "Where she was staying? Her name even?"

"Told everyone her name was Leena," the slimeball said, turning and walking towards the bar. Claudia wrinkled her nose in disgust as the soles of her shoes stuck to the dance floor. There was apparently a good reason people only went to nightclubs at night.

"I don't make a habit of learning too much about snotty little socialites," the slimeball continued. "These girls are normally a flash in the pan. So long as they bring in money for a couple of nights, I'll give them anything they want, but next week it'll be another pretty face in a slutty little dress that I'll be dealing with."

"You are really not endearing yourself to me, Dante," Steve growled. Dante sneered at him and ran a hand through his greasy hair again.

"You're lucky I'm even talking to you at all," he stated. "What does the Secret Service want with this girl anyway? Is she the President's mistress?"

"Did anyone else on your staff talk to her?" Claudia asked snidely.

"Bartenders won't be in for a couple of hours," Dante grunted. "The only people here right now are the cleaning staff, and they don't work at night."

Steve placed his tablet on the bar and drew up the website full of photos from the night before.

"How many of these people can you name, Dante?"

Claudia left Steve with the nightclub manager and climbed the stairs out of the club and back to street level, where Myka, Martin and Jazz stood waiting. They looked up hopefully as Claudia stepped out of the doorway.

"We're here too early," Claudia said with a shake of her head. "The bar manager is a disturbingly disgusting stereotype. The people with any info on Leena won't be here until after dark."

"Claud, we're far too old to get into this nightclub while it's actually running," Myka said.

"You might be, but they're not," Claudia stated, indicating Jazz and Martin. "Give me the right lighting and a decent eyeliner and I'll pass too."

"Claudia, if we wait until tonight to get information, we're going to be cutting it awfully fine for time," Jazz said. Claudia smiled grimly.

"We'll keep looking," she said. "Maybe we'll get lucky."

Steve stepped back onto the street a moment later, shaking his head.

"Hate that guy," he muttered to Claudia. Claudia gave him a pinched look.

"Unfortunately, I think we'll be dealing with him again," she said. "Claudia Donovan is about to make her clubbing debut."

* * *

><p>Leena's body was not handling the barrage of toxins it was continually being pumped with. As she attempted to get herself ready for the night ahead, Leena found herself hunched over the toilet bowl more than once as her stomach fought against the alcohol in her system. Breathing shallowly, Leena pawed through the bottles of pills she'd managed to accumulate since she'd gotten to New York. She found a muscle relaxant and washed a couple of the pills down with the miniature Jack Daniels from the mini bar, then popped an antidepressant just to be sure.<p>

"Antidepressant for the depressant," she giggled to herself. The joke made her feel better for a nanosecond, so she threw down another pill, taking a swig of champagne to wash it down. She emptied her remaining pills into one bottle as a space saver, sliding it into the little black satin clutch she'd bought on her shopping spree. Leena stood in just her underwear and spread out the dresses she'd purchased over the unmade bed, fingering her hair clip as she assessed her options. Suddenly only one of the dresses made sense. She grabbed the glittery silver scrap of cloth and shimmied it over her head, then headed back into the bathroom to fix her hair and makeup, taking the champagne bottle with her as she went. She placed the bottle on the bench and stared down the girl in the mirror.

"Nobody loves you, Leena Lattimer," she sneered at her reflection. "You're worthless, and nobody cares."

She took a swig of champagne and fought back the urge to vomit.

"Pathetic," Leena muttered. Her reflection stared sadly back at her, so Leena closed her eyes and turned away as she downed the contents of the champagne bottle.

* * *

><p>The line of pretty young things waiting to get into Brink snaked around the block, and the Warehouse group found themselves standing right in the middle of it.<p>

"Why aren't we using badges?" Myka asked with a frown. "You guys could be inside within minutes."

"Do any of us look like Secret Service right now?" Claudia shot back, indicating the baby faces of Martin and Jazz, and then tugging uncomfortably at the hem of the tight purple mini she wore. She turned to Jazz with a tight-lipped expression on her face.

"In what universe would these dresses be deemed as essential items in an agent's overnight bag?" she asked Jazz accusingly. Jazz gave her a sideways glance as she fixed her lip gloss in a pocket mirror.

"An agent prepares for all occasions," she countered. "Besides, that dress is a lot longer on me than it is on you."

"I'm only two inches taller than you, Jazz," Claudia said coldly. "This dress belongs on one of Bailey's dolls, not on a human."

Martin, who was standing next to Jazz, was smirking, and Claudia squinted suspiciously as she turned around to find Steve pointing his phone at her.

"What are you doing?" she spat.

"Taking a picture to send to Bailey," Steve said with a grin.

"I will cut you," Claudia growled, and Steve chuckled as he snapped a picture of her scowling face.

"You actually look amazing," Steve told her. Claudia's face flushed and her expression softened as she met Steve's reassuringly blue eyes.

"Not bad for 40, huh?" she asked shyly. Steve smiled and winked.

"You don't look a day over 28," he teased. Claudia snickered and rolled her eyes, but her blush remained. Martin tugged at the shirtsleeves Myka had just rolled up for him and exhaled loudly as another group of leering young men ambled past.

"You ok?" Myka asked her son.

"Everyone is staring at my girlfriend," Martin said through gritted teeth.

"That's because she's beautiful," Myka stage-whispered, smiling despite herself as she winked at Jazz.

"And half naked," Claudia quipped. "Honestly Jasmine, you're lucky I don't call your father about that dress."

"My father bought me this dress," Jazz shot back with a laugh. She tucked herself under Martin's arm as another wolf-whistler walked past. Steve pulled a wad of papers out of his pocket and distributed them to Claudia, Martin and Jazz.

"Remember, we're looking for anyone in these photos," he said as the line to the club moved forward again. "Surely at least one person got some information on Leena."

Martin suddenly lost his grip on Jazz when a pair of hands reached out and grabbed him.

"Hey!" he shouted. The girl who had grabbed him was staring back at him with wild eyes.

"Holy shit!" she shrieked, flipping her brown hair over her shoulder. "If you're not her brother, I'll just die!"

"Wait, whose brother?" Martin asked quickly. The girl rolled her eyes.

"Leena's!" she exclaimed. "That bitch said she'd be here tonight, but I can't find her anywhere." The girl pouted as she fluttered her eyelashes at Martin.

"You know Leena?" Martin stammered out.

"Uh, guys?" Claudia drawled, holding up one of the photographs Steve had just handed out. "I think she more than just knows Leena." The pretty brunette in the pink dress standing in front of Martin was a perfect match for the girl Leena had been snapped locking lips with the night before.

"What's your name?" Myka asked the girl as she pushed her way to the front of the group.

"Courtney," the girl said perkily. Her pupils were the size of quarters, and Myka couldn't even begin to fathom what drugs were rocketing through the girl's system. Courtney reached out and flirtatiously placed a hand on Martin's chest.

"Are you actually Leena's brother?" she purred. "Because I like to play on both sides."

"He's taken," Jazz said coldly, using a finger to push Courtney's hand away.

"Courtney, did Leena mention to you where she was staying?" Claudia asked.

"She did more than that," Courtney drawled. "I stayed with her last night, at the Onyx."

Steve had already whipped out his phone and was drawing up the Onyx room listings.

"There's no Leena Lattimer on this list," he frowned. Myka leaned over his shoulder and took only a mere second to pinpoint her daughter's alias.

"That one," she said.

"Harper Radley?" Steve asked.

"To Kill a Mockingbird," Claudia and Myka answered in unison. Courtney was watching the group and swaying slightly.

"I'm going inside now," she announced in a sing-song voice as she tripped away. The Warehouse group were already headed towards a main street to flag down taxis to get to the Onyx Hotel. Claudia stopped for a moment to whine.

"Wait, are you telling me that I put this ridiculous dress on and I didn't even get to go inside a club?" she asked incredulously. A guy wearing low slung jeans and a wifebeater slapped a flyer against Claudia's chest as he ambled past.

"Here you go, baby," he leered.

"Gee, thanks," Claudia snarked at his retreating back. She peeled the flyer off her chest and was about to crumple it into a ball when she took in its content and inhaled sharply.

"Uh, guys?" she called. Steve and the rest of the team, who were several paces ahead of her, stopped and looked back at her.

"I think I just found where Leena is," Claudia said, scrambling to catch up to the group, waving the flyer in front of her. She held it up for the group to see.

"New club in Brooklyn," Martin read. Claudia nodded.

"Alexa Van Alen died in Brooklyn," she prompted.

"I don't see how that links up," Jazz frowned. Claudia pointed at the flyer again.

"Look at the name of the club," she instructed. She watched as Steve and Myka suddenly registered her indication.

"House Party," Steve said breathlessly. "Alexa Van Alen died at a house party in Brooklyn."

"Jesus Christ," Martin hissed. "We have to get the hell to Brooklyn, now."

"On the plus side, no cover charge," Claudia quipped, waving the flyer.

* * *

><p>There was a small crowd of people gathered on the sidewalk and pointing at the roof of the building House Party occupied when the taxis carrying the Warehouse team pulled up kerbside.<p>

"What's everyone looking at?" Steve asked a large man who was clearly supposed to be working the door of the club.

"There's a girl up there," the bouncer said over his shoulder, not taking his eyes off the roof. "We can't figure out if she's going to jump or not."

"Has anyone called the police?" Claudia asked, turning her eyes skyward. The bouncer scoffed.

"It's that ditzy little rich bitch that was all over the social pages this morning," he reported. "Police recommended calling her therapist, or waiting until her alcohol supply runs out. They'll only come out if she actually threatens to jump."

Myka's face had gone white at the description of her daughter. Without waiting for the others to act, she turned and bolted for the door of the club. The bouncer caught her movement and shouted after her.

"Lady, you can't just go inside! There's rules!" he cried, catching Myka's arm. Myka wrenched herself out of his grasp.

"That is my daughter up there!" she yelled. "Try and stop me!"

The bouncer took a step back as he took in her murderous expression. Martin rushed to catch up to his mother, and Myka held out a hand to stop him.

"Marty, you need to stay down here."

Martin gaped at her.

"Mom, I need to go up there! That's my sister!"

"Marty, this one is between me and Leena," Myka told him. "I can't focus on her and worry about you at the same time. Please. I promised you that I would fix this."

Tears welled up in Martin's eyes. He let out a shaky breath.

"Don't let her die, Mom."

Myka swallowed hard and nodded, then pulled her son into a quick hug. When she turned back to head into the club again, she found Claudia right beside her. Myka let out an exasperated growl.

"Is anyone actually going to let me go and save my daughter?"

"I'm going with you, Myka," Claudia said defiantly. "This is still a Warehouse case."

Myka gave her a put-on look, and Claudia rolled her eyes.

"Don't make me pull rank on you, Lattimer."

Myka gritted her teeth.

"You'll let me deal with this, you understand?"

Claudia nodded, and Myka set her mouth in hard line and stepped through House Party's doorway. Steve watched Claudia disappear after Myka and then turned to the bouncer. He held up his badge.

"Secret Service," he said tersely. "Call the cops again, and the ambulance, and don't take no for an answer."

Jazz slid her hand into Martin's as she followed his gaze to the rooftop of the club. Leena came in and out of view as she paced back and forth on the ledge. Jazz could feel her boyfriend trembling.

"Don't tell me it's going to be ok," Martin murmured. "Just keep doing exactly what you're doing, and don't let me lose my mind."

Jazz tucked herself back under his arm and held on tight. Steve returned to stand beside the pair, and as a group, they all focused their attention on the rooftop.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I have a theory that the Regents/Mrs Frederic got Steve and Claudia Secret Service access when they moved to Warehouse 14. They would have needed something like that, being on international ground.**

**Call me needy but I'd love some feedback...**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: This is almost the end... almost...**

* * *

><p>Leena swung around and wobbled precariously at the sound of the rooftop door opening. She set her mouth in a hard line as Myka and Claudia appeared in the doorway.<p>

"Why do you keep turning up when I don't want you here?" Leena shouted exasperatedly at Myka. "Nine years I wanted you to be there, and I finally stop caring and you're freaking everywhere!" She stopped to take a swig from the vodka bottle she held, and then squinted towards Claudia.

"Wow, Aunt Claudia, you look hot!" she slurred with a grin.

"Leena, why don't you come away from the edge?" Myka offered gently.

"Oh yeah, because I'm going to do what you want all of a sudden," Leena scoffed, tiptoeing along the rooftop ledge. Myka noted with relief that Leena's stiletto heels were lying discarded on the rooftop. She took a deep breath and tried again.

"Leena, I know that you and I have a lot to sort out," Myka said, taking a step towards her daughter. Leena quickly whirled around.

"Don't you come near me!" she shrieked, swinging her arms wildly. She lost her grip on the vodka bottle, sending it spinning over the edge of the building. Moments later there was the distinct tinkle of glass breaking, followed by a shout of Leena's name. Leena peered over her shoulder and pulled a surprised face.

"Well, would you look at that," she drawled. "Marty's here." She waved and giggled. Claudia shot Myka a worried look.

"You have to get her away from that ledge," she whispered. "She's too unstable."

"I'm trying, Claud," Myka shot back through gritted teeth. "Just have a neutraliser bag ready, ok?"

Leena was staring up at the sky with her arms spread wide. A soft wind had picked up on the rooftop, causing Leena's hair to fly around her face. Myka took advantage of Leena's distraction and edged towards her daughter.

"You'd better stop that," Leena sing-songed, tucking her hair behind her ear and staring Myka down.

"Leena, we need to talk," Myka said gently. Leena rolled her eyes.

"Please," she muttered sourly. "You're not here for me. You don't care about me at all."

"Leena, why would you even say that?" Myka asked. "Of course I care about you. I'm your mother."

"Some mother," Leena scoffed. "Do you even know anything about me?"

"I know you're allergic to bee stings," Myka said softly. "That scar on your knee is from when you fell off your bike the day we took your training wheels off. When you were three, you had an invisible pony named Bob. Your favourite midnight snack used to be Cheerios straight out of the box."

"Can you tell me anything from after I turned 10?" Leena challenged with a scowl, and Myka hung her head for a moment before she looked up.

"You prefer to read paperbacks instead of e-books," she said, her voice growing stronger. "You love to run for miles, but never with a companion. You make batches of chocolate chip cookies in the middle of the night. Last year you crashed your car into the stop sign at the end of our street." She stopped to look Leena directly in the eye.

"You haven't cried once since your dad died."

Leena was staring back at her mother with a forlorn expression.

"Where were you?" she whimpered. "Where were you when I needed you?" She balled her hands into fists as she suddenly transitioned into rage.

"Where were you?" she shrieked. "When I was 11, I fell out of a tree and fractured my collarbone, and you didn't even notice that I couldn't use my arm for three days! Aunt Tracey had to take me to the hospital. When I got my period six months later, Martin was the one who had to go to the drug store to get me tampons! Do you know how humiliating that was?"

Myka was shaking.

"Sweetie," she tried, taking another step forward.

"No!" Leena screamed hysterically, backing up and suddenly pinwheeling her arms as she hit the very edge of the rooftop. Again Martin's audible shout of distress echoed up from the street below.

"Tell me where you were when I won the school science fair! What about when I blew my audition for the spring musical? Where were you for all of the dance recitals, the track meets?" Leena was practically hyperventilating.

"Where were you," she said, her voice cracking, "when I let some frat boy whose name I don't even remember take my virginity in the bathroom of a stranger's house in Palmer Ridge?"

Myka's heart dropped to her stomach as she stared in anguish at her daughter.

"Oh Leena," she whispered. "My sweet baby girl. I am so, so sorry."

"Forget it," Leena sniffed, crossing her arms over her chest and turning her back on her mother. Myka fought against the sobs forming in her throat and tried to grasp on to a memory that would catch Leena's attention. She took a shaky breath.

"I walked in on you talking to your father once, right before he died," Myka started, clasping her hands together. "It's one of my strongest memories. He was in bed, and you were tucked up under his arm, your knees up against your chest. Even then, you were all legs. I remember thinking how tall you were going to be when you grew up. You'd obviously been reading together; there was a book lying open on Pete's lap, but you were deep in conversation. It was one of Pete's good days, one of his last. I heard you ask him if he believed in soulmates, and I remember the smile he got on his face when he looked at you and told you that you were the proof that soulmates existed. I loved him so much in that moment."

Leena had turned slowly to face Myka again. Her whole face had crumpled into grief.

"Do you remember what else he said that day?" Leena choked out. "He said that soulmates stayed together forever, and that they were never apart. Daddy promised that he wasn't going to leave you, Mom. He promised! But he lied! Less than two weeks later he was gone."

Myka watched as a solitary tear worked its way down Leena's cheek.

"He lied," Leena repeated dejectedly. "Daddy made a promise, and he broke it."

"Oh my God," Myka whispered as realisation dawned over her. "You're not mad at me. You're mad at Pete."

"Of course I'm mad at him!" Leena shrieked. "He left! He died! He broke a promise, and he broke you, Mom! He's the reason you never wanted anything to do with us! He's the reason you don't love me!"

"What?" Myka yelled back in unbridled horror. Leena's words were like a slap in the face. "Leena, no!"

"It's true!" Leena cried desperately. Now there were tears rolling down her face. "I can't take this anymore!" She cast a look over her shoulder at the street below, leaning back slightly.

"Leena!" Myka shouted pleadingly. "Leena, my sweet, beautiful baby girl, I have never, ever stopped loving you!"

Leena's head whipped up so fast that she lost her balance. Her shriek this time was one of terror as she wobbled precariously on the roof ledge, fighting to regain her centre. To Myka, time suddenly seemed to move in slow motion. She heard Claudia gasp, and Martin's scream from the street below. Myka dashed towards her daughter. She flung her hands out and latched on to Leena's wrist just as Leena began to pitch backwards again, and dragged her daughter back onto the rooftop with an adrenaline-fuelled force. Myka collapsed on the concrete and instinctively wrapped her arms around Leena as her daughter fell on top of her. Claudia was at their sides in an instant, reaching out and unsnapping the hair slide from Leena's hair before dropping it into an open neutraliser bag in a shower of sparks. Leena lifted her eyes to meet Myka's.

"Mom?" she whimpered uncertainly. Myka reached up and gently used a finger to move Leena's hair out of her eyes.

"Hey, baby girl," she whispered gently. "I love you."

Leena's lower lip wobbled for a moment.

"Mommy," she squeaked out, before bursting into tears. Myka dragged herself into a sitting position and held Leena tight as the teenager sobbed, rocking her and murmuring soothingly. Leena's cries were gut-wrenching; Myka could almost feel the years of pent-up emotion spilling out of her as she wept. Leena eventually lifted her head from Myka's shoulder, sniffling as she tried to calm her wracking sobs.

"I don't feel so good," she hiccupped out. Myka chuffed out a laugh and kissed Leena's forehead.

"That's gonna be one hell of a hangover, kid," Claudia quipped, reaching out and stroking Leena's hand gently. "Steve's got paramedics waiting downstairs."

"Get them up here, now," Myka murmured to Claudia, as Leena turned white and started to quiver. Claudia scrambled to the edge of the rooftop and shouted Steve's name. Myka rubbed her palm over Leena's bare arm as Leena looked up at her with a sickly sheen on her face.

"Mom," she moaned softly. Myka shushed her and pulled her close.

"I'm right here, baby," she whispered. "I got you."


	19. Chapter 19

Myka sat with her chin resting on her knees, just watching her children as they slept. The paramedics had worked fast and rushed Leena to the nearest hospital, where she'd had her stomach pumped before doctors had placed her on an IV drip. Leena had been so exhausted by her ordeal that she'd passed out before the medical staff had the chance to offer a sedative. Myka had sent Claudia, Steve and Jazz back to the hotel.

"Go and get some rest," she told them. "We're not going anywhere for a while. I'll call when she wakes up." Claudia had enveloped Myka in a crushing hug before leading her troops out of the hospital waiting area. Myka had returned to Leena's room to find Martin standing over his sister's bed, chewing on his lip worriedly.

"She's going to be ok," Myka said soothingly, rubbing her son's back gently. Martin didn't say a word, just silently climbed onto the hospital bed and wrapped himself around his sister. Within minutes, he'd closed his eyes and fallen asleep. Myka had sunk into the chair beside the bed and wrapped her arms around herself, and this was where she found herself hours later. She was amazed at how soothing watching her kids sleep was. There was a peacefulness in her heart that seemed to replace the turmoil she'd felt for so long. Myka felt herself drifting towards sleep herself when Leena suddenly exhaled loudly from the bed. She opened her eyes slowly and gazed blearily at Myka.

"Mommy," she rasped out. Myka quickly unfolded herself from her chair and reached for the cup of ice water beside the bed. She offered the straw to Leena, who sipped for a moment and then moaned gratefully.

"How are you feeling?" Myka asked softly, stroking a strand of hair off Leena's forehead.

"Disgusting," Leena whispered, swallowing hard. "Mortified. Revolting. Sore. My throat is killing me."

"Stomach pump," Myka told her, smiling ruefully. Leena winced and then nudged her shoulder back against her brother.

"Marty, get off me, you big lump," she whined scratchily. Martin moaned a protest as he emerged from sleep, then suddenly sat bolt upright.

"Leena!" he gasped, pulling his sister into his arms and clinging on for dear life.

"Ow," Leena whined against his shoulder. Martin drew back and gripped Leena's shoulders.

"Don't you ever do that to me again!" he growled at Leena.

"Trust me, it's definitely not in the game plan," Leena quipped, giving her brother a sheepish look. Martin's face softened.

"I thought I was going to lose you," he whispered. Leena smiled softly.

"Never going to happen, Marty," she told him. "You're stuck with me."

Martin hung his head and chuckled, and then looked up at Myka.

"Thank you," he said sincerely. Myka cocked her head.

"What for?"

"You saved her," Martin smiled. "You made a promise, and you kept it."

"I'm your mom," Myka told him. "I would do anything for you. Both of you."

Leena settled back on her pillows with a soft sigh, and Martin stretched himself out beside her, propping his head up on his hand. Myka handed Leena the water cup again and leaned on the railing of the bed. She rested her chin on one of her hands. Leena looked up at her mother after swallowing more water.

"Mom, I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Sweetie, you got whammied by an artifact," Myka murmured. "You don't need to apologise."

"Not for that," Leena said, shaking her head. "I'm sorry about Daddy. I'm sorry that he left you."

Myka met her daughter's gaze for a moment, taking in her so-familiar liquid chocolate eyes, and then transferred her attention to Martin, who bit his lip and hung his head, tracing patterns on the bed sheets with his finger. Myka reached out and used her hand to lift Martin's gaze to hers.

"Pete never left me," she stated. "He's been here the whole time." She cupped Martin's cheek in her hand.

"He's also been here," Myka continued, placing a finger on Leena's forehead, "and most of all, here," she moved both of her hands and placed them over the hearts of her twins. Martin and Leena were both staring at her with tear-filled eyes. Myka gave them a soft smile.

"I'm just sorry that it took me so long to realise it," she said gently. Both of her kids were crying, and Myka had to pull her hands back to swipe the tears off her own face. Leena moaned as she wiped her nose with the back of her hand.

"God, I feel like I'm never going to stop crying," she complained. Myka laughed.

"You've got some catching up to do, sweet girl," she quipped. Leena rolled her eyes as she sniffled.

"Mom, about the Warehouse..." Martin started, and Myka let out a sigh.

"We were always going to tell you," she murmured. "I promise you, it was always the plan. You were going to be my 'one', Marty, and Leena was Pete's. We'd even lodged the paperwork with the Regents. But then, Phoebe came along, and then your dad got sick..." Myka trailed off and hung her head before looking up, fresh tears in her eyes.

"I was confused," she said apologetically. "I let my emotions get the better of me. I'd already lost Pete, and there was no way I was losing my kids too. I'm sorry guys, I really am. I would be lying if I said the thought of you two being in the Warehouse didn't terrify me, but to actively deprive you of it was wrong."

"Maybe you can help us discover it now?" Leena offered hesitantly. Martin's face broke into a big smile as a blush crept over Myka's cheeks.

"I'd like that," Myka whispered, nodding her head. Leena reached out and took Myka's hand.

"I don't want to be mad at him anymore," she admitted softly. Myka squeezed her daughter's hand.

"I think we can work on that together too," she said, reaching over and taking Martin's hand as well. She swallowed hard.

"I love you both, so much," Myka stated. "Your dad loved you too. He would be so proud of the people you've become. As proud as I am."

"Damn it," Leena whined as her tears began to flow again. Myka chuckled and looked over at Martin.

"Would you like to call Jazz?" she offered, smiling as a dopey look crossed her son's face at the mention of Jazz's name. Martin stretched and climbed off the bed, patting Leena's hand as he went. He shuffled around the bed and pulled Myka into his arms.

"I love you, Mom," he whispered in her ear. Myka kissed him on the cheek before pushing him towards the door. She looked back at Leena, who was smiling sleepily.

"I love you too, Mom," she said drowsily. Myka leaned against the bed rail again, smiling as she stroked Leena's hair.

"Go back to sleep, baby," she murmured. "I'll be here when you wake up."

"I like the sound of that," Leena whispered as her eyes drooped closed. Myka crossed her forearms and cast her eyes skywards.

"You did good, Pete," she said softly with a smile. "They're perfect."

"Yeah we are," Leena muttered sleepily, and Myka laughed as she rolled her eyes.

"They're also yours, Lattimer," she murmured with a soft chuckle, a tear working its way down her cheek. "And I am so grateful for that. I love you, Pete."

* * *

><p>Bailey let out a shriek and tore across the Warehouse office at lightning speed, launching herself at Leena and clinging on tight.<p>

"Hey, Bay," Leena soothed gently, running a hand over the little girl's hair. Bailey looked up at Leena with wide eyes.

"If you ever do that again, I'll hurt you," she stated threateningly. Leena laughed and squatted down to look Bailey in the eye.

"I'm not going anywhere, kid," she told her. "I promise."

Bailey huffed out a breath and then wrapped her arms around Leena's shoulders. Leena tried not to groan in pain.

"Careful, Bailey-Bear," Claudia said with a smile. "She's still fragile."

Leena straightened as Bailey finally let her go. Claudia pulled Bailey to her side as Chester stepped forward with a rueful smile.

"Congratulations," he said. "You were almost killed by an artifact. You are now officially a Warehouse Agent."

Myka and Steve exchanged a surprised laugh behind Leena's back as Leena accepted Chester's hug. The brunette caught Jensen's eye as she pulled away.

"Hey there," she said softly, stepping forward hesitantly. Jensen hurriedly stuck out his hand and gave her a wide-eyed stare.

"I'm glad you're ok, Leena," he said quickly. Leena furrowed her brow at his outstretched hand.

"So you're giving me a handshake?" she questioned. Jensen swallowed hard and glanced over at where Martin stood with Jazz.

"I'd prefer it if your brother didn't rip my throat out," he muttered under his breath. Leena stared at him for a moment, and then raised her hands to her mouth as her eyes widened in horror.

"Oh my God you told them!" she exclaimed. "Oh my God, Jensen, why would you do that?"

Jensen looked pained.

"You were in trouble, Scamp," he said apologetically. "I was worried about you. Please believe that it was as horrifying for me to recount as it is for you right now."

Leena shot a glance at her brother, who pursed his lips grimly.

"I'm so sorry, Jensen," she said, wrapping her arms around him. Jensen hesitated for a moment before returning the embrace.

"You look like shit, Scamp," he told her, and Leena laughed as she pulled away and sank down onto the couch. Despite her upbeat attitude, she did look thin and drawn, with dark circles present under her eyes. She was wearing sneakers and loose jeans with a long sleeved tee, as if trying to make up for the tiny dresses she'd worn all over New York.

"Everyone can stop looking at me now," Leena declared, clasping her hands in front of her. There was an awkward silence for a moment before the other inhabitants of the office let out a collective breath and then moved off to conduct their business. Jensen and Chester left the office after consulting for a moment with Steve, while Jazz dragged Martin down in front of a computer. Bailey scrambled onto the couch next to Leena and immediately burrowed under Leena's arm. Myka made to make a similar move when her cell phone started to chirp. She pulled the cell out of her pocket and grimaced when she saw the caller display.

"I'll be back in a moment," she said, making for the door to the balcony. Claudia watched her go and then stood in front of Leena and Bailey with her arms crossed.

"Ok Leena Lattimer, we need to talk paperwork," she started, and Leena let out a low moan of protest. Out on the balcony, Myka hummed and made all of the appropriate affirmative noises while on the phone before saying goodbye. She pocketed her phone and then leaned on the balcony railing, taking in the massive span of the Warehouse before her. Myka absently twisted her wedding ring around her finger as she drifted off in thought, but when she inhaled, she realised that she could smell apples.

"Told you that the Warehouse was happy to see you," Steve said from the doorway. Myka smiled over her shoulder at him as Steve joined her at the balcony railing.

"I need to think about going back home," Myka told him with a sigh. "That was Tracey on the phone. She wanted to know if she should start lodging formal adoption papers for Phoebe."

"Warehouse and family is definitely an intricate balancing act," Steve said. Myka gave him a sidelong glance.

"Do you have any idea what Claudia plans on doing with my kids, Steve?" she asked.

"Funnily enough, that's why I was sent out here," Steve told her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Claud's holding court inside, and your presence is requested."

Myka folded her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes questioningly, but Steve just headed for the door, beckoning her to follow. When they walked back into the office, Martin and Leena were seated on the couch while Claudia stood in front of them. Jazz and Bailey were perched on desk chairs close by. Steve lifted Bailey off her chair, took her seat, and then pulled his daughter back into his lap. Bailey offered him a Twizzler as she settled back against his chest.

"You want to join Marty and Leena?" Claudia asked Myka, tilting her head towards the couch. Myka hesitantly sat down next to Leena, who nudged her affectionately with her shoulder. When Myka smiled, Leena blushed. Claudia cleared her throat.

"Lattimers," she said with a wry smile. "We have quite the discussion to have."

"Aunt Claudia, what's going on?" Martin asked cautiously.

"We've made it to the end of summer," Claudia said, tugging at the hem of her shirt absently, "and as much as it pains me to say it, we've got some decisions to make. And by we, I actually mean you two."

"And we're back to you not making any sense," Martin muttered. Claudia gave him a warning look.

"You and your sister don't have to stay here," she said. "You're not Warehouse agents, and you're not required to be here. Your places at Duke are ready and waiting for you if you want them."

Leena slumped back against the couch with a dumbfounded look on her face. Martin wrinkled his forehead in confusion.

"Wait, what?" he said. "How?"

"I know what strings to pull," Claudia drawled with a put-on expression. "Your basketball coach thinks you've been involved in a very important family matter over the last couple of weeks. Also, you were given a very high letter of recommendation from an FBI agent."

"Chester?" Martin asked incredulously.

"Jensen," Claudia shot back. "He's evidently very keen for you not to kill him."

Martin exhaled loudly and scratched at his head absently. Claudia looked over at Leena, who was staring straight ahead with a dazed expression on her face.

"You ok, kid?"

Leena snapped to attention.

"I want to stay," she stated in a defiant tone, whipping her head to the side to face Myka with a pleading look as she went into begging mode. "Mom, please! This is where I need to be. All was going to do at school was study history anyway, and what better place to do that than Warehouse 15? I belong here! Please don't tell me that I can't!"

"I wasn't going to argue," Myka said softly, and Leena's mouth dropped open.

"Huh?"

"I agree with you," Myka said with a smile, using her finger to push Leena's jaw closed. "The Warehouse is the perfect place for you to be, Leena. You'll learn things here you'll never learn in college. And if you do feel like it, there are plenty of opportunities for you to study online. But for right now, I agree with you. You belong here, my sweet girl."

"Thank you," Leena whispered gratefully, tears welling in her eyes. Myka held her arms open, and Leena gratefully leaned into the embrace. Over her daughter's shoulder, Myka met Martin's eyes.

"What are you thinking, Marty?" she asked softly. Martin screwed up his face.

"I want to go to Duke," he whispered. Leena dislodged herself from Myka and turned to face her brother with wide eyes.

"Marty?"

"Please don't be mad," Martin pleaded. "I just always pictured myself going to college. I want to play basketball, and go to frat parties, and," he caught Myka's raised eyebrow, "and study. Definitely study." He glanced over at Claudia.

"I can come back, right? Like for summer vacation?"

"Most definitely," Claudia assured him with a smile. "There's always room for Lattimers in this Warehouse."

"You'd better come back," came a sad voice from the other side of the room.

Martin rose slowly from the couch and walked over to where Jazz sat chewing on her lip. There were tears in her eyes that she was evidently trying very hard to fight. Martin took her hands and pulled her to her feet.

"You understand, right?" he murmured, putting his hands on her waist. "I just want to do normal, just for a little while. I'm not leaving you behind for good."

"As if I'd let you, Lattimer," Jazz sniffled. "You're my happy person."

"One hundred percent," Martin smiled, leaning down to kiss her.

"Um, ew," Bailey commented from the safety of Steve's lap. Martin and Jazz broke apart with a laugh, and Jazz buried her head in Martin's chest.

"I'm trusting you to look after my sister, Bailey," Martin told the tiny redhead. Bailey bit into a Twizzler and winked at him in reply. Steve looked over at Leena, who was leaning gently against Myka's shoulder.

"Good to have you on board, Leena," he told her with a smile.

"Don't think we're going to go easy on you, just because you're legacy," Claudia warned, grinning broadly.

"Oh!" Jazz piped up excitedly. "She can move in with me!"

"I don't know how I feel about that," Myka said uneasily as Leena's face lit up with familiar Lattimer eagerness.

"We'll talk about it," Claudia said with a laugh. All attention in the office suddenly turned to the bay of computers as an alert sounded. Jazz detached herself from Martin and leaned over the screen.

"Potential ping," she reported to Steve, who was already sliding Bailey to the floor as he got to his feet. Claudia held out a hand to her daughter.

"Come on Bay, there's a Tesla upstairs that needs rebuilding," she beckoned, and Bailey's face lit up as she followed her mother up to the alcove. Myka rose from the couch and headed back to the balcony, and Leena and Martin only hesitated for a moment before they followed her. They stood either side of her and leaned against the balcony railing.

"I am so proud of you both," Myka told the twins. "You have grown into a strong young man and a determined young woman."

"Isn't that our Lattimer genes?" Martin inquired with a grin, and Myka felt the corners of her lips tug upward.

"I have to say, I see some strong Bering genes in both of you," she stated firmly, and Martin chuckled as he stared out at the Warehouse. Leena let out a soft sigh.

"I wish Daddy could be here to see this," she murmured. Myka mirrored the gazes of her children.

"Now that you both know about the Warehouse, I could bring Phoebe here," she commented, and the twins drew in a collective breath of horror.

"Mom, you cannot bring Phoebe here!" Martin cried. "She can't walk ten paces without hurting herself or breaking something. It'd be a disaster!"

"You forget, I spent five years in a Warehouse babysitting Pete Lattimer," Myka said with a laugh. It took her a moment to realise that the twins were both staring at her in disbelief.

"What?" she asked.

"You said his name, and you didn't cry," Leena pointed out softly. Myka felt her cheeks grow warm.

"This really is a place of endless wonder," Martin commented, wrapping an arm around Myka's shoulders. Myka drew Leena in to her other side.

"You are my endless wonder," she told them both. Martin looked down at the watch on his wrist as Leena reached up and grasped the ring that hung around her neck, and as one, the Lattimer family breathed in the scent of apples. Myka leaned her head against Martin's shoulder and wrinkled her forehead for a split second before relaxing again. It was probably just a trick of the light, or wishful thinking, but she swore that just for a moment she saw Pete leaning against one of the stacks with a satisfied smile on his face, before he turned and disappeared.

"I love you," Myka whispered. Leena turned her head and kissed her mother on the cheek.

"Love you too," she murmured. Myka hummed happily and squeezed her kids tightly, taking the time to appreciate the inner contentment she'd been searching for all along.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And that, my beautiful friends, is the end *insert tears*. I don't think we've seen the end of Marty, Leena, Jazz and Bailey mind you, but this is where we leave them for now. I'd like to thank you all for the kind words and support... Those who deserve special thanks know who they are.**


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